One Piece High
by DaniCali28
Summary: AU: Virginia is new at Paramount High School, a public school on the Grand Line, there she meets the cheeky Monkey D. Luffy who dreams of becoming the King of the Pirates, the livid red-head Eustass Kid, and the mysterious Trafalgar Law, who's hiding something and others who will help her to accomplish her goals. Disclaimer: I don't own One Piece characters ideas or settings.
1. Chapter 1: Public School?

"Public school?" I muttered in disbelief as I slammed my palms against the desk and pulling myself to my feet "What do you mean public school?"

"I'm sorry Virginia, you're a good student but we can't allow you to act the way you do anymore, it disgraces the good name of our school"

"But I've never gone to a public school; I've always been at Ember ever since I started school!" I begged, discarding my sarcasm-glazed words of which I had become accustomed to using.

"I'm sorry but it's obvious that you don't care about this school at all, you show up late, you do not complete any of your assignments, it's a mystery as to how you maintain such a high grade point average, you have no respect for authority, you start fights with other students that disagree with you, and we've turned a blind eye to all of this but you've gone too far this time, refusing to bow to a Celestial Dragon how can you even consider…Why I've never met a more disrespectful, disgraceful, hard-headed…well you understand don't you?"

I shot him a cold stare, attempting to pierce his heart with the daggers in my eyes. Knowing I couldn't win this battle I took a deep breath and sighed hard.

"Alright" I whispered

"Now please clear out your locker, we'll have the address of your new school once you're done"

I slipped down the hall, silently dragging my feet as I walked to my locker "good it's not a passing period, no one we'll see me, I won't have any explaining to do" I thought, even though I hated just about every one of the other students at Ember I did not want to run into them and give them the satisfaction of knowing that I was 'transferred'

"Hey Virginia" jeered an annoyingly high-pitched voice

"Oh great, Rendi" I thought "What's that rule humping, navy loving bastard doing here"

Rendi was the kind of kid that any normal person would hate; he followed every rule by the book and criticized anyone who didn't. But the students here weren't quite normal to say the least, we were supposed to be the prodigal students, we were not supposed to tolerate any less than perfection. Needless to say, he hated me. But it was a mutual relationship, but he, just like the marines played dirty. He was the one who told everyone that I was a 'devil fruit using freak of nature' as he put it, which just put the icing on the cake for everyone to hate me.

"Hello? I'm talking to you!"

"Oh, Rendi, I didn't see you there" I said as I slammed my locker door shut and rolled my eyes at him.

"Did they finally kick you out? Good, I think it'd be best for everyone here, you just weren't cut out of this type of school" he smirked

"Hmph, still pissed that my GPA is higher than yours, face it Rendi no matter how hard you try, no matter how strictly you follow the rules, you'll never be able to beat me" I said without thinking as my mouth kept moving "curse my impulsive mind, I need to learn to shut up" I thought not breaking the death stare we were sharing.

"I am better than you!" he whined crossing his arms like a five year old girl how wasn't allowed to have ice cream for dinner, unable to come up with anything better.

"Sure" I teased "whatever you need to tell yourself" I sang in a baby voice.

"You aggravate me so much! I wish I could just…"

"Oh yeah what, go on, fight me, I dare you" my challenging words spewed out of my mouth uncontrollably "You can't can you?" I narrowed my yellow eyes at him daring him respond. He looked back unable to concoct a reply all he could do was meet my cold eyes and stare back. In an instance he fell to the ground. I chuckled to myself as I slung my blue bag over my shoulder and flipped my bouncy chocolate brown curls over my shoulder accentuating my golden blond highlights "how disappointing, he's such a weakling, I hate weaklings" I thought and walked to the door, slowly sawing my narrow hips as I walked to the front office to get the address of my new school.

"Got everything?"

"Yes." I responded coldly

"Alright then, you will be attending Paramount High as of tomorrow, you are to go to the office by eight o'clock sharp, you will get your schedule then. You will meet with Mr. Sengoku, the principal, and I'd respect him if I were you, they say he's a quite powerful man"

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the slip of paper with the address and shoved it into my pocket and turned to leave shaking my head and sighing deeply. "It's all for the best" I tried to tell myself.

"Good luck Miss Emerson" he said trying to sound sincere but I could sense the smirk across his face.

I walked out of the office and headed for the heavy iron door at the entrance of the school. "I'm screwed, Beverly is gonna kill me" I thought as I trudged home, bogged down by all the thoughts in my head "maybe she'll understand" my optimistic side argued "what the hell are you thinking, just about slit your throat when she found out you lost your virginity" my doubtful side hissed back "god, I hate that marine loving woman" I thought. Beverly is the person I am supposed to call mom. She's really my aunt, or at least she was, she used to be married to my mom's brother, my mother dumped me on her when they were still together, I was about three at the time, she didn't want to deal with me, I guess. Beverly and I had a rocky relationship at best; currently she's dating someone in the marines, not that it mattered, she was dating someone new just about every week and to top everything off she was the most by the book, conservative, old world person I've ever met, but she had told me my mom was worse, so I guess it all worked out for the best if she was right. I recoiled at the thought of the twenty-eight year old bottled blond as I thrust open the door and threw my bag against the floor.

"What are you doing home so early?" Beverly shouted placing her spray tanned hand on her hip

"Didn't Spandam call you?" I said avoiding eye contact

"No he did not, Emerson D. Virginia, tell me what you did!" She demanded

"To make a long story short, I got kicked out" I smirked as I handed her the crumpled paper from my pocket with the address of Paramount High scribbled on it

"You ungrateful brat! You're a disrespectful disgrace, I outta ship you out and force you to join the marines, at least they'll straighten you out!" She continued as she picked up a glass sitting on the table beside her and threw it at me.

"Reflect!" I shouted as the glass flew back at her.

"Damn devil fruit" she said as she stormed off slamming the paper on the table "You'd had better not fuck this one up missy!" she screamed in her shrill voice "every goddamn day with this fucking kid!"

I hurried down the stairs to my room in the basement, locking the door behind me. I collapsed on my bed "Public school" I snarled "it's not that I think I'm better than them" I rationalized in my mind "in fact, I'd assume I'll like them better than the other loons at Ember, I just can't stand the thought of a public school and its primary education services that ensured that all children received the same level of education, and those who needed a challenge were to be sent to a higher ranking school, damn the world government for passing such an idiotic law. And I really don't want to go to a school run my marine appointed instructors. I thought Ember was bad, but this school is even worse, I guess they send all the 'challenged' students here" I shook my head as I argued with myself, trying to think of a way that this could go right. I had everything planned out at Ember, the school was much closer to the world government, which allowed me easy access to classified information, to be honest, the entire purpose of Ember was to create loyal subjects, or slaves rather, to the world government, the only reason I tolerated it was the fact that I was able to learn so much of their secrets. Just then a thought crossed my mind. "Hmm, Spandam never confiscated my school ID, that could work to my favor." I thought as I slowly crept up the stairs being careful not to make too much noise as I grabbed my bag and went back down the stairs. "Perfect, it's valid until the presumed graduation date" I said "I'll have to keep that in a safe place" I thought shoving it into a notebook that I hid in the midst of all my other books on the book shelf. "Perfect"


	2. Chapter 2: A New Beginning

I woke up late the next morning "shit, it's already seven-thirty! I have to be there in a half an hour" I threw on the first outfit I could put together; short black leather shorts, red high top sneakers, and a white crew neck t-shirt that you could kind of see my hot pink bra through which only cover up until just above my belly button. "Oh screw it!" I said as grabbed a grey hoodie as I ran out the door and headed for the school.

Luckily Paramount was much closer than Ember so I would be able to make it there on time if I hurried. It was far too warm out to be wearing a hoodie, and the strong morning sun beat down on my dark hair which I had barely had the time to straighten the night before, and due to my lack of time this morning was tied up in a loose side pony-tail which revealed my shaggy, overgrown bangs, so I swallowed what little pride I had and shoved the hoodie into my bag.

I reached the school just in time "seven-fifty two, not bad" I praised myself as I looked at the building, it was much larger than Ember, it was an orange brick building with a lot of windows, and a bell on the top, however it didn't seem to be in use anymore there were shades all around it, in fact, I wouldn't have even known it was a bell if it was for the word _campanile, _the Latin word for bell tower,written in elegant script across the top. As I headed into the school someone opened the door for me.

"After you miss" said a gentle voice, I turned around and saw a blond boy with his hair covering his left eye.

"Oh, thank you" I smiled softly at him

"No, no, the pleasure was all mine" he smiled as he gently caressed my hand "I've never seen you before, are you…" he began to ask when he was interrupted by a loud childish voice

"SANJI!" the voice screeched as a small boy in a red vest wearing a straw hat jumped up the stairs

"Whoa, his arms, they just stretched!" I thought "I wonder if he too ate a devil fruit"

"Sanji!" he said again

"I'm right here you idiot!" the blond boy barked

"San… Hey who's this?"

"I'm Virginia" I smiled

"Virginia, what a lovely name!" the blond boy cooed

"I'm Monkey D. Luffy, the guy who's gonna be King of the Pirates!" The boy in the straw hat said proudly

"Well nice to meet you Luffy" I said shaking his hand

"Are you new here?" He asked staring me down as if he was trying to remember if we'd met before

"Yeah, this is my first day"

"Oh cool!" He cheered "Then welcome! There are some people I want you to meet!" He chuckled grabbing my arm

"Not now Luf…"

"ZORO! HEY ZORO" He screamed as he pulled me down the stairs

"Luffy!" I tried to scream but to no avail

"Zoro! This is my new friend her name is V…Vi…Virgil, or something like that! Hee hee" he chuckled smiling widely.

The boy looked me down from head to toe, as if he was observing my character trying to figure out what kind of person I was, it sort of freaked me out. He was tall and muscular, with tan skin and pale green hair. "My name's Virginia" I clarified

"Okay now c'mon, I want you to meet…" Luffy started

"No Luffy, I can't I have to get to the office to get my schedule, and somehow learn to navigate this entire school in one class period, I don't even know where the main office is, and I have to be there in… three minutes"

"I'll take you" Zoro offered

"Oh, thanks that'd be…"

"Don't let that Moss-Head try to show you where something is, he'll try to take you to the office and you'll end up in the bell tower" Sanji said "I'll take you" he said as he escorted me into the school. He lead me up a flight of stairs as we entered the building "Okay, so you just go right down the first hall and the office should be on your left" he said "I'd love to continue you this but I have to get to world studies class"

"Alright, thank you very much, Sanji, was it?"

"Yes and no trouble at all, I' glad I could be of help to you"

"What a strange bunch of people" I thought "but they're all so nice, no one was like that at Ember" I thought as entered the office. "Excuse me?" I asked

"Can I help you?" The secretary asked in a mundane, monotone voice

"Yes I'm new here"

"Name?"

"Emerson D. Virginia"

"Ah, yes, Mr. Sengoku will be here in a minute" she frowned slightly

"Great" I said as I slumped into one of the office chairs

"Ah, Mr. Sengoku, the new student it here to see you" the secretary said in a now more upbeat voice

"Send her in Kalifa" I heard a voice say

"Mr. Sengoku will see you now" she said again in her mundane voice as she pointed to the door marked _principal._

"Thank you" I said as I slowly turned the door knob and entered the room

"Ah you must be Virginia" Said a stern, yet somewhat friendly voice

"Yes" I said

"You may have a seat" he said as I sat down opposite him

"Now, here's your schedule, you will have World Studies first period with Dr. Sakazuki, second period you have Math with Mr. Smoker, third you have Language Arts with Ms. Hina, then Physics with Mr. Borsalino, then World History with Mr. Newgate, then you go to lunch which is in the cafeteria which is directly below us, then after lunch you have health co taught by Ms. Kokoro and Dr. Ivankov, you have health class two days a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, the rest of the week you have quite study supervised by Sir Crocodile then seventh is Spanish with Mr. Donquixote, then eighth we have The Arts taught by Mr. Shanks, and ninth is Biology with Mr. Mihawk, then tenth is gym and you change coaches throughout the year depending on what activity you do." He said as he printed out a copy of y schedule and handed it to me "now, you're free to walk about the school for the remainder of this period but you are to go to your second period class, oh, and here's you're locker number and the combination, good luck"

"Alright" I said taking the schedule and beginning to walk around the school. "Hmm, didn't Sanji say that he had first period World Studies, maybe we have the same class, it'd be nice to have a class with someone I know" I thought as I walked around. The school was divided up into three buildings; one was the main building where most of the classes were held, it was a four story building and was divided up into wings based on the core subjects. The second was the gym building, and the third was the grand auditorium; and they were all connected through a series of tunnels. I made my way to the gym building to see how far the walk would be across. "Hmm, I wonder what time this period ends anyway." I thought as the bell rang. "great, just great, where do I go now, oh, that's right, math, yeah, my favorite subject" I said sarcastically as I checked my schedule and rolled my eyes. "Now just to find it" I thought half wishing I knew someone to ask "it sucks being new" I thought as I walked through the halls, up the stairs and around the school. _*BUZZ* BUZZ* _"Oh great that's the bell" I said as I hurried around the school Finally I reached the third floor and began scrambling through my schedule to find the room number "who invented stairs, I'm gonna kill them" I said realizing there was map in every stairwell that showed where every wing was "Great" I thought "I couldn't have found that six minutes ago, okay, let's see here, math, is on the fourth floor on the right side" I said as I quickly ran up the stairs and headed for the room.


	3. Chapter 3: Perfect Stranger Part 1

I must have been at least fifteen minutes late when I finally reached the room. "Do they really need to make this school so big?" I muttered under my breath as I collected myself and gripped the handle of the door. I hadn't had time to find, much less put things away in my locker so I was still carrying all of my supplies I was given at the office that couldn't fit in my book bag when the arduous thought crossed my mind that I hadn't even picked up my books from the library. "I'll go there after school it takes enough effort just to find my way around this labyrinth of a school, I'm sure my teachers will understand, it's my first day, I doubt I'll be doing much of the actual work today" I said hopefully and I walked into the classroom.

Immediately I was met the eyes of everyone in the room, I quickly scanned the classroom looking for a familiar face, no such luck, but who was I kidding I knew three kids at this school the chance that I'd have even one of the in any of my classes were slim at best.

"You're late" Barked a harsh voice as I looked in that direction and saw a silver haired man staring at me with beady eyes. "Hello, I'm speaking to you young lady!" he growled

"Sorry I couldn't find the classroom" I said through my teeth returning his cold stare.

"I don't appreciate your tone" he said gruffly as he paused and looked at the paper "Miss Emerson" he said eyeing me down "that little outfit does not comply with our school dress code" he declared as his cold eyes narrowed.

"Does it bother you?" I asked smugly again, impulsively speaking from my stupid compulsive mouth, which in situations like these seemed to have a mind of its own.

He narrowed his eyes but dropped the argument, thankfully for me, if it had gone on much longer my stupid mouth could have gotten me into trouble. "Alright Miss… Emerson D. Virginia, you may take the empty seat in the third row next to Trafalgar Law, and try not to disrupt the other students" he said making sure he got the last word in.

I bit my tongue so hard to keep myself from getting further on his bad side that I thought it may bleed.

I had no idea who this Trafalgar Law person was but since there was only one empty seat in the whole classroom I was sure this was the right one. I slowly walked to the desk listening to the quiet chatters from the other students.

"Hey, she's kinda hot" I heard someone say

"New Girl…" another said sheepishly "nice"

"Wow, that'll wake ya up" another said

"teenage boys, always the worst" I thought "and it's worse here, they only can think of one thing, we'll I'd rather that than what the boys at my old school thought of, now I have a reason to punch them" I chuckled to myself as I slipped into my seat and tossed my bag on the floor and slumped down into the chair.

Mr. Smoker walked up in front of the class room "Now take out your homework problems from last night" he barked as he wrote the problems on the board and proceeded to walk around the room and check to make sure each student had done their work.

"You do your homework Law?" jeered a boy sitting two seats away from me with wild red hair

"Don't tell me what to do Eustass" replied the thin boy wearing a fur hat who was sitting next to him.

"I thought you had some wild aspirations to become a doctor?" the red haired boy continued "don't you need this kinda shit?"

"I said, don't tell me what to do!" he replied again not even looking at the red haired boy

I scribbled the problems down on a sheet of paper "let's see how well I remember this, it's been awhile since algebra" I teased myself

"If you're _so _worried about me, then give me your homework" The kid wearing the fur hat smirked as he reached over onto the other kids desk and tried to grab the paper

"Hey!"

"You're right, I probably don't want it, when it comes to math, you're worse than me" he laughed

"Shut the fuck up Trafalgar!" he said "at least I have something to show for!"

"Oh for the love of peace!" I said as I slammed down the piece of notebook paper I was using on the kids desk. "Here" I said.

He eyed the paper up and down "these, these look right" he exclaimed "how'd you do that?" he asked

"It's just algebra, mere child's play" I smirked as I pulled out another sheet and began working on it.

The boy continued to stare at me as if thinking "no way, she's actually smart?"

"Hey? Hello? Anybody home?" the red haired kid taunted as he waved his large hand in front of the other boys face.

"Hmm, what?"

"Yo, Earth to Law? What the hell are you looking at?" he said coldly as he looked over the other kid and at me "oh, yeah, she's pretty hot maybe I'll ask 'er out" the red haired kid jeered as he stared at me.

I chose to ignore everything he said and look away as Mr. Smoker reached our row.

"Alright, you two, should I expect the usual of nothing?" He said mockingly as he grabbed their papers "if you two keep this up you're not going to pass this class, hmm, Mr. Trafalgar, these answers are actually, correct" he paused and starred intensely at the paper and in one quick motion slammed in onto his desk.

"Now you" he said looking at "I don't expect you to just understand this stuff right away, it's fairly advanced" he grinned as I shoved the paper into his face "that's correct, how do you know all this stuff already, where did you transfer from?" he said starring me down.

Well, there was no use hiding it anymore, I didn't know the names of any other schools in the neighborhood, and it'd be useless to make one up, I guess my secret's out "Ember" I whispered under my breath hoping only he'd hear me.

"You went to Ember?" He said loudly

"Great, just great Mr. Smoker, could you say that a little louder, I don't think the kids in the art wing heard you!" I screamed in my mind.

"Ember?" Whispered the boy next to me as if he now was more interested, as he glanced down at the paper I gave him.

"Oh, so we got a prodigal student here!" Laughed a student with blue/green colored hair and a metal nose who was wearing a Hawaiian shirt.

I slumped down further into my seat wanting to just disappear.

"So what's a little genius like you doing here?" the red haired kid asked bluntly "Hey, girl, I'm talkin' to you!" he growled at my response, or the lack thereof.

"Just drop it Kid" said the slow voice sitting next to me.

"No way, he's defending me?" I thought

Mr. Smoker finished checking the rest of the students' homework in and walked to the front.

"So, who would like to do one of these problems" he said holding out a piece of chalk and gesturing to the front chalkboard "How about you Mr. Trafalgar, since you seem to have gotten a grasp on this chapter last night" he said as the boy sitting next to me got up.

He dropped his shoulders and grabbed the paper I had given him. "He's really gonna do it" I thought as we walked to the front of the room. He was wearing light colored blue jeans with an obscure dark spot pattern, black shoes, a yellow and black hoodie with some kind of symbol on the front and the fur hat which resembled that of the hats I commonly saw when reading about the North Blue, maybe he's from there I thought, I know we are all going to a school on the Grand Line, just outside the Red Line, however I doubted the great majority of the students weren't born on the Grand Line. As my mind wandered I looked up at the boy at the chalkboard, he had written down exactly what I wrote and now was stuttering through an explanation, trying to decipher my short hand.

"Law, if you keep up these shenanigans you are going to fail this class" Mr. Smoker said looking at Law disapprovingly. "You can pass the chalk off to someone else now." Law slammed the chalk down on the red haired kids desk and smirked

"Why, you little…" he snarled as he reluctantly went up to the board.

"No, Kid, that's wrong" Mr. Smoker said

"Fuck this" Kid said as he strolled to his desk

"I will not tolerate that kind of language in my classroom!"

Kid just rolled his eyes.

"Can anyone come up to the board and correct this work?"

"I will" muttered

"So you see, you have to factor this, _(x__2__-9) _ since it's a perfect square you can factor the inside into _(x-3)(x-3) _and your two possible factors are both positive three because if you set each equation to zero the only way it will come out even is if the solution to _x _is positive three." I said as I dropped the chalk into the tray under the chalkboard and walked back to my seat.

I caught the angry glare of Kid who was staring me down as I walked back to my seat. I saw Law smiling out of the corner of my eye.

"Wipe that stupid grin off your face" Kid said "you did no better than me"

"At least I got the answer right"

"Because she gave it to you!"

Law shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention to the front of the room

"Okay, and here are you homework problems for tonight" Mr. Smoker said as he wrote seven different problems on the board "and remember your test is next week on Thursday" he warned as I scribbled the problems down onto a piece of paper.

_*BUZZ*BUZZ* _ the bell sounded and we all shuffled out of the classroom, my head was filled with mixed thoughts "Mr. Smoker seems like a pretty tough teacher, but I think I can win him over" I thought to myself "Now where am I going" I said looking at my schedule "Language Arts, that's on the second floor if I remember correctly" I thought as I hurried down the stairs and found the room.

"Yes, I made it on time" I thought as I walked into the classroom "Zoro!" I said as I saw the familiar green-haired boys face. "wow what luck, I have someone I know in at least one class" I thought as I walked over to him.

"Oh, hey Virginia" he said "Usopp, this is Virginia, she's new here"

"Hi" I smiled at the long-nosed boy

"Hello! I am brave Captain Usopp! Champion of the Seas!" He said triumphantly as be placed on leg on the desk taking a warriors position.

"Oh shut up moron" Zoro said pinching his arm.

"Ouch! Zoro! That hurt!"

I covered my mouth as giggled "they really are an odd bunch" I thought

"Hey! Don't laugh at me!" Usopp said.

"I can't help it, you're too funny!" I smiled nicely

"Oh, uh…how can I say no to that pretty face" He blushed as he scratched the back of his head

I felt someone grab my arm and pull me away from the two boys. My body jerked back and I felt like I was going to fall.

"Hey?" I said looking back and saw a young looking thin woman with long light pink hair and deep red lipstick staring back at me.

"Don't make Hina upset! Why are you in my class?" she demanded

"I'm new here, this is my first day" I clarified "My name's Virginia"

"Hmm, let Hina check" she said as she walked to her desk. "Oh, Emerson D. Virginia?" she asked and I nodded "Oh, then yes, you're supposed to be here, Hina is sorry" she said "Hmm, there's no open desk here, Hina will have to call the office and ask someone to bring one for you" she said surveying the classroom.

"I will give up my seat for the fair maiden before me!" Usopp stood up attempting to be chivalrous.

"Thank you Usopp" I said walking over to his seat and hugging him "this is going to be fun" I thought.

"Don't exploit the poor sap" Zoro said turning around.

"Hey, who do you think I am?" I questioned

Zoro narrowed his eyes in a sort of playful manner, but I could tell that he wasn't completely joking.

"Don't worry, I'm just messing around, I would never hurt a friend" I said "there are some lines even I wouldn't cross" I said reassuring him.

"You don't seem like that kind of person" he said.

"Wow, they're so nice here, this is nothing like Ember" I thought

"Is this okay Miss Hina?" I voice cooed, I looked up to see the custodian already up here with another desk for Usopp.

"Yes Fullbody, that's wonderful, thank you for coming so quickly" She replied flirtatiously

"Oh no madam, no trouble at all, the pleasure was all mine"

"Miss Hina!" another voice in the hall cooed "You look lovely today, as always"

"Thank you Django" she answered smiling sweetly, revealing her white teeth against the dark lipstick.

"Poor love-struck little bastards" I thought "men never really do change do they" I smiled at the antics of the two custodians who left the room smiling widely.

"Alright then class, we were working with figurative language yesterday, we will continue today. We will begin a poetry book project in which we will explore all types of figurative language. We will also be studying the works of famous poets such as William Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, E.E. Cummings, and Walt Whitman" she stated "as Hina said before, you will be compiling a poetry book it will be filled with examples of your own poetry as well as other examples, all of these should fit into your selected theme, which will be the overall theme of your book." She continued lecturing us until the end of the period. "We will begin taking notes on forms of poetry, and forms of figurative language!" she said as we all left the classroom

"Hey?" I heard someone behind me say "Virginia, where are you going next?" Usopp asked me

"Oh, um…" I pulled out my schedule. "Physics, with Mr. Borsalino"

"Hey, sweet, me too" He smiled "I'll take you there" He said as he put his arm around me.

"Oh, okay" I smiled "I'll play along" I thought as he walked me up to the third floor and into the physics lab, across the hall I saw the chemistry lab, and down the hall further away from the other two I saw the biology lab. "I'll have to remember where that is I have biology ninth" I thought.

Usopp entered the classroom and began waving to a girl sitting in the back, she had big, bright blue eyes and dark black shoulder length hair with blunt cut straight bangs with a small gap on the right side, and to a boy in a Hawaiian shirt with blue/green hair that was gelled up out of his face, and a metal nose. "Robin! Franky!" He called as he pulled he over to their table. "This is Virginia, she's new here" Usopp eagerly introduced me

"Hey, hey, now, she's quite the looker; SUPER pretty!" Franky said

"Are you adjusting well to your new school?" Robin asked

"I like it more than my old school" I said honestly

"That's good" she smiled "It seems like some of our boys have taken a liking to you as well"

"You should join out lab group Virginia" Usopp suggested "we're short one person"

"Of course, I'd gladly accept" I said

"Hey, aren't you the pretty girl from my math class who challenged Mr. Smoker?" Franky asked

"Oh, ya, probably" I smiled

"Did you really transfer here from Ember?"

"Ember?" Ussop asked

"You don't mean Ember Academy _the _Ember Academy" Robin questioned as well

"Yes, I did, but it's not a big deal, please don't treat it as such" I said hoping they would lose interest.

"Then what are you doing here?" Franky asked

"I got kicked out"

"Really?" Usopp said "What could a nice girl like you do to get kicked out of a school?"

"I never really liked the school anyway, so it's not a big deal" I said avoiding the question

"But what happened?" Franky persisted

"Dos Fluer" she said and slapped the two boys "can't you see she doesn't want to talk about it?"

"A devil fruit user?" I questioned

"Yes" she giggled

"Oh, well now, you must be the new girl" a man dressed in a yellow suit said to me "Nice to meet you, I'm Mr. Borsalino" he said "I see you've already picked a lab group, that's quite alright" he said and walked away calmly.

From across the room I could see the boy, Kid, from my math class glaring at me, he sat at another table next to a tall, lanky, boy with long, unkempt, dirty-blond hair and a blue and white striped mask over his face, and across form a pale boy with dark, sunken eyes and stitches all over his face, which I wasn't sure were tattoos or not" and a very tall, tan boy with a sad expression on his face and a necklace with two axe blades on it. "Kid, please calm down" the blond boy said "you don't even know the girl"

"Is he still staring at me?" I wondered, but didn't dare make eye contact with him, for some reason I had the feeling that I did not want to get on his bad side, and knowing myself, that meant it was just best if I kept my distance.

Mr. Borsalino stood up in front of the class behind a metal track and placed a metal ball at the top. He released the ball and the class observed as it rolled up and down the track and until eventually coming to rest in the middle. "Now, can anyone tell me what causes this ball to slow down and stop?"

"Because it uses up all of its force" Kid said

"Well, yes, but what causes that, something cannot just be lost, that's the golden rule of science!' Mr. Borsalino corrected.

"It's because of friction, the metal ball rubs up against the metal rail and some of the energy it had gets released as heat, therefore, the total outcome is still the same, and since it has lost energy in the form of heat, or sound, or light, or another form of energy, it cannot make it up as high as it did before, and eventually stops. It still follows the rule of Newton's first law since the outside force acting upon the ball in this case is the friction between it and the track, and the track itself, if you rolled the ball on a frictionless surface it would never stop"

"Oh, yes, very good" he said "beautifully explained" he said

I smiled at the compliment, it had been a long time since I had gotten one of those, things sure were different here. I noticed Kid from across the room, still glaring at me.

When the bell rang I gathered my things and hurried out of the classroom hoping kid wouldn't stop me.

"History, okay, that's on the second floor" I said as I turned toward the stairwell.

"Hey!" I dark voice stopped me "What the fuck kinda performance was that in there"

"Oh no!" I thought

"What? Do you think you're better than me or something?" Kid said staring straight down at me

"I can't help it if you were wrong, that's not my fault, I wouldn't have to correct you if you gave the right answer in the first place" I said staring straight up at him trying not to show any sort of fear.

He clenched his teeth but didn't say anything; instead he just turned and walked away. I let out a deep sigh and headed down the stairs to my world history class.

"So you must be the new girl I've been told so much about, welcome to my class" said a friendly old man with a long, pure white mustache right under his nose "take a seat wherever you like" he smiled and I walked into the classroom.

"Virginia" said a familiar voice "I didn't know you had this class next"

I looked up and saw Robin sitting at one of the tables near the board.

"Ya, I guess I should have asked" I smiled

"HEY VI…uhhhh" said the same loud and childish voice from before

"Virginia" I said "and Hi Luffy"

"Robin, have you met Virgil get?"

She chuckled "Virginia, Luffy, and yes, I have"

"Oh, great, she's our new friend!" Luffy declared "Oh, wait here, I want you to meet someone" he said as he disappeared form the room into the hall "ACE! ACE!" he screamed.

He returned shortly with a boy who resembled him, but with longer hair and freckles. "This is Ace, he's my brother" Luffy said "Ace, this is Virginia, she's our friend now" he said

"Nice to meet you" He said "I'm surprised my brother remembered your name, he doesn't have the best memory"

"Yeah, I've noticed, he's called me Virgil a lot, I guess remembering the first three letters is enough" I laughed as Ace pulled up a chair form another table and sat with us.

I felt someone staring at me and I turned to look, but stopped myself "what if it's Kid again?" I wondered "Geez, how many classes could I possibly have with him?" I thought. Ignoring my own warning I turned around, half expecting to see Kid with his awful glare staring at me, but was surprised to see the other boy from my math class, Law, I believe it was, he was leaning back in his chair nonchalantly resting is head in his hand and his feet up on the table. Next to him sat a large, fluffy, white bear, and two other boys, who were looking directly at me. Both of them hid their eyes with their hats but I could tell they were staring at me, one wore a black hat with the word _penguin _on it "cute" I thought "I'd probably wear something like that" and the other had light reddish hair and a big blue/green hat with a red brim. They both were smiling moronically at me so I chose to humor them. I waved at them and smiled seductively before turning around again.

"Stop staring!" I heard the same slow, calm voice say

"Sorry man but have you seen her" one of them said

"Feet off the table, Law" Mr. Newgate said as he made his way to the front of the classroom

"Alright class, let us continue our conversation and allow me to spark your memories by asking the question again: What is history?" he asked "let's let our new girl answer" he said looking at me.

"History is the study of the past events in recorded history, if you are looking for a basic definition that's it, but true history consists of other aspects and limitations as well. It requires an analytical view of the past events, conflicts, successes and failures in order to search for the solution to a modern problem. Unfortunately, history also comes with a disadvantage, a bias, most people how have recorded anything about that past have a particular bias one way or another and therefore it is hard to judge their feelings on a subject, and likewise the data may not be recorded correct due to this bias. Also, one must take into take into consideration the time period and judge it based upon that as well as be able to compare it to similar instances in other periods in history"

"Okay, and what qualifies something as being important to history?"

"Well, it has to have some sort of an impact on something else that being said, almost anything then could be considered history, usually what are considered important are events which are a direct cause to an uprising, or revolution, and the direct effects of such an event, but to fully answer that question is impossible, to discuss the importance or something is not a question of fact, but of opinion, you will never get two identical answers. And to be honest, discussing the matter of importance almost goes against what history actually is, history searches for the facts, though the reactions of the public are most certainly important, their reactions become factual since it shows how they felt, however, their direct opinion is not taken in as factual evidence when writing the actual history, for instance, let's say a kingdom hates their king and think he is a terrible person, well the fact is the way his kingdom perceived him, however, just because they say he's a terrible person is not fact therefore that is not written into the history as a direct fact, only as the opinion on some." I wrapped up my long answer and looked around at the silent room.

"Alright, that's more than enough for me, does anyone have anything to add to that?" he asked no one said anything "any questions about what she said? Yes, Luffy?"

"What did she say after 'study of past events'?" Luffy asked. Mr. Newgate took a long sigh and shook his head. "No, really."

I laughed a little bit "that history is subjective" I summarized

Just then the bell rang "whoa, did I really talk for that long?" I wondered

"Have a good day, and I'll see you guys tomorrow" Mr. Newgate said and we all filed out of the room.

"LUNCH TIME!" Luffy screamed

"Coming Virginia?" Robin asked

"I'll meet you guys down there; I wanna go to my locker first"

"Okay, we'll meet you down there" Ace said.

"Now, where in the world is my locker" I wondered as I stared at the slip of paper with the number on it.

* * *

**A/N**: The name of my main character is take from Ralph Waldo Emerson, the first name I Just made up though.

Finally introducing more characters! If you have any suggestions feel free to leave them, I'm always open to new ideas. :D


	4. Chapter 4: Perfect Stranger Part 2

I stared at the slip of paper with my locker on it, completely unsure of where it might be. "Okay, now where the hell could this be?" I thought as I stood silently in the middle of the hall.

"Need some help?" I slow voice asked

"Uh…Sure" I said as I looked up and saw that Law kid from before.

He glanced at the paper and smiled a little.

"Do you have any idea where it might be?"

"Yeah" he said as he grabbed the books I was holding out of my hand as took me by the arm and pulled me along.

"Telling where to go would have been sufficient" I thought "and why are his hands so cold?"

He continued to pull my arm as we climbed the stairs to the third floor. When we reached the top he quickly jerked me to the left and stopped in front of the section of lockers on the wall at the end of the back hallway.

"Here" he said tapping on the locker with the number that matched the one on the paper.

"Oh thank you" I said "You didn't have to…"

"Don't worry about it, just call it repaying a debt" he smirked slightly

"Is he talking about math still?" I wondered as I slowly dialed the combination and opened my locker and took some books out of my bag and placed them into my locker. Law handed me the rest of my books; which for some reason he had carried for me, and I placed them in my locker.

I continued to rummage through my supplies when I noticed that he was still standing beside my locker as if he wanted to ask me something. "Did you need anything?" I asked

"Oh, uh…no" he said is a nervous voice which I was taken aback by as he turned and walk down the stairs.

"Well…that was…" I thought looking in the direction he went "Okay, lunch, Mr. Sengoku said that the cafeteria was right under the main office" I thought as I headed in that direction. The school was set up pretty strangely; the floor the office was on was called the first floor, even though you had to climb a flight of stairs to get to it, most of the rooms on the floor were offices, as well as a copy room, and the study hall room, the floor below it was known as the main floor, it housed the cafeteria, the library and the conference rooms, and then there was even a floor below that which was the art wing and a computer lab.

In my rush to get out the door this morning I had not time to pack a lunch, all I had was a bottle of water and an orange.

I walked into the crowded lunch room and looked around observing all the various people "I hope I can find Luffy…" I thought when I was interrupted by his loud childlike voice calling me from across the room "found him" I though as I crossed the room noticing Kid sitting with the same people as he did in physics, I kept my head down to hopefully not egg him on any further than I already had today, but even averting my eyes, I could still feel him staring at me.

"Oh! Virginia-chan! You look stunning!" Sanji sang and he led me to the table

"Cut it out Curly-Cue" Zoro said noting Sanji's eyebrow which swirled at the end.

"Shut up Moss-Head!" He retorted viciously as they continued to stare each other down

"Stop it you idiots" growled a brown-eyed, red haired girl

"Okay, Nami-san!" Sanji said as he crossed his arms and turned away from Zoro

"You're such a pushover" Zoro said, but Sanji refrained from responding.

"Zoro, Sanji? What's going on?" asked a high pitched worried voice

"Don't worry Chopper, it' alright" Robin said trying to calm down the blue-nosed reindeer

"Hey, Virginia, this is Nami" Luffy said pointing to the red haired girl "And this is Chopper" he pointed to the adorable little teddy bear like reindeer wearing a big pink top hat "you guys, this is our new friend Virginia, she's new here" Luffy clarified for everyone

"It's nice to meet you" Chopper said

"It's gonna be nice to have another girl around here" Nami said as she and Robin giggled

"I just hope Sanji will be okay, I don't know if he can handle being around so many pretty girls at once" Chopper said sounding a bit worried, but it made me laugh nonetheless.

"Ha ha SUPER perverted!" Franky laughed as he glanced at Sanji

"Hey, Brook!" Luffy called from across the cafeteria "Virgil, you need to meet Brook! He's the other person who sits with us during lunch"

"Virginia" A few of the others at the table corrected

"Yohohoho, Luffy-san, what seems to be the matter" A soft and somewhat elegant voice said behind me

"Brook, this is our new friend Virg…Virginia" He said pausing to make sure he got my name right. I smiled at his effort and nodded approvingly.

"My eyes nearly popped out of my head at the beautiful girl sitting at our table. Even though I don't have eyes! Yohohoho!" Laughed the incredibly tall skeleton.

"Hmm, a talking skeleton, you never know exactly what you're going to see on these seas" I thought to myself

"Miss" He continued "May I see your panties?" He asked, before I could answer Nami hit him on the back of the head. "Miss, are you not terrified by my very appearance?" Brook asked

"No, not at all, trust me, I've seen weirder things" I thought thinking back to the lunatics at Ember "But, if you don't mind me asking, how can you eat if you're all bones?"

"Oh, Virginia-san" He said as he slumped over in his seat and frowned. "Because I need my Calcium! MILK!" He shouted as he swooped the small lunchroom carton of milk off the table and drank it as he crushed the cardboard carton between his phalanges.

My heart smiled as I laughed at the groups antics "they're all so accepting of me, this truly is nothing like Ember" I continued to think "But I can't forget my main reason for even staying at Ember in the first place" I said as a frown crossed my face.

"Oh, Virginia-chan, is everything alright?" Sanji asked in a concerned voice

"Oh, yes, I'm fine" I feigned a smile trying to forget about those thoughts for now.

"Are you sure?" Sanji asked still concerned

"Yes!" I said as the bell rang to dismiss lunch

"Virginia-chan, where are you going after this?" Sanji asked

"Oh, um health, I think" I said pulling the paper out of my bag "yeah, health"

"Fantastic! Me too!" He sang "I will show you the way" He said as he put his arm around me and showed me to the health room.

"We only have health class two days a week, since it's Tuesday we do today, the rest we take a study hall"

"So I've been told" I said

"And I should warn you, Sir Crocodile does not enjoy children he's the study hall supervisor, and our health class is taught by two nut jobs, a bifurcated mermaid, Ms. Kokoro, and Dr. Ivankov, a transvestite, with a horrifying devil fruit power"

"What do you mean?"

"You'll probably find out" he said looking a bit sick

"Yes I'm fine" he said trying to recollect himself "Oh, and here's the room" he said

"Hee hee, look what the cute blondie-boy has brought with him today" said a man's voice that had been glazed over with feminine overtones

"Well that must be Dr. Invankov" I thought

* * *

**A/N:** Yes! already four out and she hasn't even finished her first day! Let's see how long I can stretch in ;). I don't own One Piece, but I'm really having too much fun with the teachers if you haven't noticed, next part will be out soon. If you have any suggestions feel free to comment, I except new OC's as well.


	5. Chapter 5: Perfect Stranger Part 3

"My, what a beautiful specimen of femininity!" He declared in front of the whole class as he brushed Sanji's arm away and gently touched my shoulders.

"Well, I understand what Sanji meant, but I can't tell what kind of devil fruit he has, hmm maybe I could…" I stopped "do I really want to use my devil fruit in front of all these people? They probably won't notice" I thought. I was absolutely desperate to know what was so scary about the devil fruit he ate, but he was so close to me that I thought showing any of my other abilities would only lead to further embarrassment.

Dr. Ivankov, Dr. Emporio Ivankov to be exact, but he insisted on dropping the Emporio for "political reasons" as he put it, regardless of what he meant by that the weirdness Sanji conveyed when warning me about them definitely lived up to its word. Dr. Ivankov was extremely tall, but his head accounted for the majority of his height, he had dark indigo hair which was styled in messy curls, he also bore a crown on his head, and adorned his face with long, spiked fake eyelashes, as well as baby blue eye shadow and indigo lipstick to match his hair. And his outfit was just the icing on the cake, a fuchsia leotard with high pointed collar and a plunge neckline that exposed even the mans' belly button, and matching leather boots that came up just below his knees, and to top it all off, fishnet stockings which stopped mid-thigh, in all, his outfit resembled that of the uniform of a go-go dancer, despite this, the man carried himself fairly well.

"Oh, just look at you!" he continued

"Well, this is not getting any better" I thought

"Voluptuous curves, complimented by your small, delicate frame, smooth, sun kissed skin which glistens against the light, and gleaming golden eyes, as big as satellites, resting just perfectly above your gravity-defiant cheekbones! And your hair!" he said as he pulled the elastic band out of my hair and let my long hair flow down my back. "Soft as silk, with lovely natural shine that frames your entire face exquisitely. "Every single feature, a wonderful spectacle or perfection!" Dr. Ivankov continued as he looked around the room triumphantly at all the teenage boys with nosebleeds.

"Ow!" two voices cringed as I saw Law slam the two boys from my history class heads together "that was unnecessary!'

"Idiots" he muttered softly "stop that"

"What's his problem?" I thought as the two boys held their heads in their hands.

Sanji quickly wiped his nose, adjusted his tie and collected himself.

"So as I was saying" Dr. Ivankov began again "before I was so rudely interrupted by the Neanderthal like behavior of the male youths in the audience, you must be Virginia"

"Erm, uh…" I stuttered out of the embarrassment "Yes" I finally managed to say after what felt like an eternity of silence.

"Ah, you must be that new girl!" said a slurred voice which walked up closer to me

"Ms. Kokoro, you are here early" Dr. Ivankov said

"Early?" I thought "The class started twenty minutes ago"

"Alright, now, let's find a seat for you" said the green haired woman. She had shark-like teeth and a long nose; she had her fins tucked into small black shoes.

"She really is a mermaid" I thought

"Okay, then Blondie-Boy, you may take your seat" Dr. Ivankov started "and you, Miss Virginia, you can have a seat in front of the Funky-Hat-Boys"

I scanned the classroom "Oh no, he doesn't mean…" I continued to look around but only saw one group of people with hats on "shit, just my fucking luck" I thought "at least it wasn't Kid" I thought of his ferocious glares and a chill ran down my spine. "yes, this has to be better, Law may be a bit intimidating, whereas Kid is downright frightening, and that's coming from me, Law's harmless…Right?" I thought as I caught his eye and he smirked at me _*gulp* _"this ought to be interesting".

I sat down in front of Law and next to the boy with the red hair, he and the one in the penguin cap grinned uncontrollably.

"Now, class, allow me to continue my presentation on mental and emotional health and wellness" Dr. Ivankov stated as he flamboyantly strutted across the room "These aspects of health are not to be taken lightly, they contribute far more to your overall health and wellness than you may think" He continued

"Then why did you make me sit **here**?" I thought

Already bored listening to the lecture and still seething due to the unfortunate position of my desk I decided to have some fun. "Alright now, let's see what that devil fruit power is about" I said as I held up my thumb and index finger to form a right angle as positioned is in such a way that Dr. Ivankov was inside it. I laid out my other palm on the desk "reveal" I whispered as words appeared on my open hand. "He can control hormones what's so horrifying about that?" I wondered "oh, now I get it, poor Sanji" I laughed realizing that Dr. Ivankov's power allowed him to switch someone's gender, that had to be on of Sanji's great fears. I dropped my hand and the words on the other faded away, I cracked my knuckles and looked up to a creepy feeling. I quickly spun around in my seat to see Law, reclining in his seat and smiling victoriously. "Oh shit" I thought "he knows, and now he's got something over me" I worried "this can't be a good situation" I turned back around nervously to face the front of the room "how am I gonna get out of this…" Just the in dawned on me, I turned my attention toward his two friends sitting beside us and smiled devilishly "much easier to manipulate" I thought. Before I could go any farther with my thoughts the bell rang out and I quickly sprung out of my seat and left the room.

"Virginia-chan! Virginia-Chan, wait!" I heard Sanji yell but I didn't turn around. I headed straight for the Spanish classroom on the second floor.

Well not straight for the classroom, naturally I had no idea where in the hell I was going so I got turned around a couple of times. But nonetheless I eventually arrived at the classroom, nearly out of breath, but on time.

I was greeted at the door by a tall blond man wearing white-framed sunglasses with purple lenses, and most noteworthy, a pink feather coat.

"Hola" he said smiling "¿tú eres el estudiante nuevo?" he asked not breaking his smile

"Really, he's already speaking to me in fluent Spanish?" I thought "Sí, mi llamo Virginia, hoy es el primero día qué estoy en este escuela"

"Ah, sí, ven aquí" he said gesturing towards his desk "sientate en el escritorio en la tercera fila a lado de las ventanas"

"Gracias, Sr. Donquixote" I said as I sat down in the seat. As I sat down something familiar caught my eye. I looked to my left and saw Law, again reclining in his desk.

"Him again?" I questioned this schools ability to make unique schedules "Oh, and just great, he's alone" I said thinking that the whole situation just got much worse.

"Entonces, clase, ¿que hiciste tú ayer cuando llegaste a casa después del día escolar? ¿Senorita Tashigi, que hiciste tú?"

"Yo fue a el Mercado con mi hermanita"

"No él fue" he said waiting for her to correct her response "yo…"

"¿Fui?" she questioned her response

"Sí, frase completa"

"Yo fui a el Mercado con mi hermanita"

"Sí, Senorita Bonney, ¿que hiciste tú?"

"Yo hiciste comer mucho"

"No, no usas el verbo 'hacer' en tu respuesta"

"Yo comía mucho"

"No usuas imperfecto en este situación"

"Yo comí mucho"

"Muy bien, hmm, Senor Law, ¿que hiciste tú?"

"Um, I, er, yo me ir, a el casa and, y, se tenir cook, el cenar" he stuggled through just about every word

"Wow, that was brutal" I thought "is he really that bad, or does he just not care?"

Sr. Donquixote sighed, "Senor Law, si necesitas más ayuda, podré venir aquí antes de la escuela empiece. Y Senorita Virginia, ¿que hiciste tú?"

"Ayer yo llegué a mi casa más temprano, y durante el resto del día yo me preparé para mi primero día en una escuela nueva."

"Sí, sí, muy bien."

After a few more rounds of questions the bell rang and we headed to our next class. "The Arts, what do they mean by that?" I thought thinking on how broad the topic was as I waked down the stairs to the basement of the school where the art wing was housed.

Outside my assigned classroom was a younger looking man with crimson hair, three scars across his left eye and only one arm. He has a friendly smile on his face as he greeted me "you must be the new girl" he said "Virginia, right, Emerson D. Virginia?" I nodded and he motioned me into the large classroom. "I'm Shanks, please, never call me Mr. Shanks, there's no need for those formalities here"

When I walked in I was awe stricken by the sight, the wall was lined with various records and guitars, and various other instruments.

"Do you play?" Shanks asked noticing my peaked interest

"Only a little, I'm better on the keyboard"

Shanks nodded "alright then, take a seat wherever you'd like" he said

I quickly spotted Ace and took a sat next to him. "Can I sit here?"

"Be my guest" he smiled

"Okay guys, just to remind you all, tomorrow we are across the hall in the studio, we're starting to paint, cool?" he asked "alright then, free period, do whatever you want, get a feel for the instruments, discuss something, hell, doesn't matter to me, this is art, express yourself" he said in an upbeat voice.

"Okay, simply put: Best. Teacher. Ever." I thought

"Do you play anything Ace?"

"Nah, why don't you play something for me, go on, amuse me" he joked as he helped me to my feet

"Alright, I'll play you one song" I said trying my best to narrow my eyes while smiling.

I stood up at the electric keyboard, cracked my knuckles and began to gently strike the keys in the familiar fast tempo I hand learned so well over the years. I slowed the tempo as I concluded the song. "There, happy" I teased Ace noticing that others had now gathered around to watch

"What else can you play?" asked the blond boy who I'd seen with Kid earlier today

"Hmm, I specialize in the keyboard and piano, but I play a little guitar" I replied

"Nice, why don't you show us?"

"No, no, no I said I'd play one song" I protested

"How about it, just one on guitar?"

"I said no" I continued to argue lightheartedly

"Scrathmen can pick up another to help you keep time" The blond kid offered

"I don't need any help" I protested

"Then how 'bout it?" Shanks asked

"Alright, fine, one more" I said as I picked up the acoustic guitar and sat cross-legged on the floor.

I heard a dark chuckle from the other side of the room "Goddammit, what's he doing here" I said noticing Law leaning up against the wall casually with the familiar smirk which I was beginning to grow accustomed to.

I lightly strummed to the light, peaceful, psychedelic, and somewhat hypnotic melody which I had remembered hearing throughout my house when I was young, before I was left to Beverly. I didn't know exactly what it was, but it was a certain harmony I never forgot.

"There, I'm done!" I smiled as I put away the guitar and stood up again.

The bell rang and we shuffled out of the room and poured into hallways.

"Where are you going next?" Law asked now suddenly deciding to be sociable, but still maintaining his policy of neither looking at me when he spoke to me, nor when I replied.

"Biology"

"Excellent, let's go" he said "right this way"

"Dammit, just my luck, just my fucking piss-poor luck" my mind screamed as I followed.

"Are you planning to just stand there for the rest of the day?" he asked as he waited for me to join him in the walk up to the third floor. Reluctantly I obliged and followed his lead.

The walk was unnaturally silent, it had surpassed awkward by the time we had climbed the second flight of stairs but I didn't dare attempt to make casual conversation with him and just allowed the uncomfortable feeling to fester.

As we neared the exit to the third floor I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief knowing it would be over soon, when I felt a cold hand traveling down my back.

"Watch your step" he said in his low, calm voice.

"I wasn't going to fall!" my mind shrieked "and who the fuck gave you permission to touch me?" I wanted to scream at him, but for some reason couldn't.

Once in the classroom I waited next to the desk for Mr. Mihawk to arrive "it sucks being new" I said again as Law took his usual reclined position in a desk in the back of the room.

"May I help you?"

"Yes, are you Mr. Mihawk?"

"I am, and I take it you're new" He said as his eyes met mine

His eyes were dreadful. They were beady and cruel and looked exactly like those of a bird of prey.

"Y-yes"

"Emerson?"

"Yes"

"Alright, sit tight, we're forming lab groups today" he said

I looked out into the classroom and spotted Nami and Usopp, good, there's a chance I could get to work with them.

"Okay, in order to keep some form of order, but any complaining to a minimum I've decided you are each to pick a partner and I will assign each pair to a lab table, fair?"

"No" I thought but no one objected

"Alright, then stand next to your partner and wait for me to assign you to a table."

I stayed up in the front of the room praying that by some miracle I wouldn't end up with him as my partner.

"Does anyone not have a partner?" Mr. Mihawk asked "Okay Virginia, you get to work with Law"

"Great, saw that one coming a mile away" I thought "He's doing this on purpose, he just wants to see my reaction" thought as I walked over to him keeping my composure.

"Koby, Helmeppo, you can work with them at table one" He said to a short pink haired boy with glasses and a blond boy with an odd hair cut wearing a purple suit as he pointed at us.

"Poor Virginia" Nami said to Usopp

"Yeah, I feel bad that she has to work with that freak" Usopp said as they walked to the fourth table in the room.

For the rest of the class we got a lecture on the preservation of the lab tables and other rules and regs about the equipment and such.

"And these are the seats you should sit in from now on when you come to this class, the desks will be removed from the classroom within the next week to make room for equipment tables" He continued "and lastly…" But he was cut off by the bell "hold it!" I stood up ready to walk out but decided I'd better not, the teachers here weren't pushovers like the ones at Ember, I had to at least try to behave slightly better "If we are working with chemicals you are to war these safely goggles at all times" he warned "Dismissed" he said and we all exited the classroom.

"Where is your next class" Law asked walking slightly in front of me

I paused for a second, but realizing ignoring him wouldn't get me any farther I spoke "Gym" I'd never taken a gym class before sports were always optional at Ember, and I was never in the mood to be picked last no matter the sport just because they all hated me.

"Well we had better hurry, it's a long walk" he said hinting at the fact that he was headed there as well

"So…" he began "I hear you transferred here from Ember Academy"

"Yeah, so what?"

"Nothing, I was just wondering, since you're obviously smart enough to go there why you suddenly came here after the school year had already started?"

"Did he just compliment me? In a strange way, mixed with sarcastic undertones, I think the bastard just complimented me"

"I don't really think that's any of your business" I said

"Maybe you're right" he said "But where would we be if we only knew things that directly involved us"

"Damn him for being right, and for saying something I would say back up his point at that"

"Well, they didn't appreciate some of my behavior, so they transferred me, which was a nice way for them to save a little face by sparing the fact that one of their students was kicked out, and not because they school was too challenging, only on account of their misbehavior"

"Hmm, Ember" he said as we walked through the tunnel that connected the three buildings

"That one must go to the Grand Auditorium" I thought as we passed a turn to go down another hall. We walked through the tunnel and up the stairs and into the other building.

"Come on" he said gesturing me into a large gym infested with other students "we're getting assigned our coach today"

"How do they pull that off?"

"Not very well" He said as he lead me up the stairs and met up with his friends

"Whoa, hello!" the one wearing the penguin cap said

"Dude? How'd you get **her **to come here with **you**?" The red haired one questioned, while the bear said nothing

"What?" Law almost looked puzzled forgetting that we had walked there together "Oh right, whatever, I just showed her how to get here, you can go sit with whoever" He said smugly as a light pink tint came over his cheeks.

A devious thought crossed my mind and I had to keep from matching Law's usual smirk.

"Alright, students, please be seated" a voice spoke into a microphone from the middle of the gym.

* * *

**A/N: **The whole part about the keyboard was solely done as a tribute to Ray Manzarek, and hey my OC's kind of a hippie, her name is based off of the inspiration for that whole movement, meaning the Transendentalists, the guitar part does have some relevance to the story but probably won't become relevant for a while. I don't own One Piece.


	6. Chapter 6: One Day at a Time

"Alright students, please be seated" A voice from the middle of the floor said into a microphone "we are about to begin"

I rolled me eyes and sat down between Law and the red haired kid.

"Hi" the red haired kid said, his face was a red as a beet and he was smiling nervously. "My name's Shachi" he stuttered.

"I'm Virginia" I smiled cutely at him

"And I'm Penguin!" the kid wearing the penguin cap chimed in

"Nice to meet you guys" I replied flirtatiously completely disregarding Laws' presence "And who's this?" I asked pointing to the big white bear sitting beside Penguin.

"His name is Bepo" Laws' cold voice disclosed.

"Hi Bepo!" I said waving at him as I slightly cocked my head to the side and flashed a quick smile in their direction.

Bepo still sat there silently "You don't have to be scared Bepo, I'm not going to hurt you" I said sincerely as he moved up closer to me. "He's so soft and warm" I thought as he looked me up and down still not exactly sure what to think

"Bepo" Law verbalized

"I'm sorry" Bepo cried as he bowed his head in the direction of the teen.

"Oh Bepo, you don't have to apologize, I don't mind" I said as I placed my arms around his furry neck and hugged his soft body while Shachi and Penguin silently sulked in their seats, I looked up at Law, is face was coated in disinterest as he fidgeted with the string of his hoodie.

"So, how does this work?" I asked

"What?"

"How do we get assigned our teacher?" I clarified

"Oh, they pretty much divide it up by sections" Shachi said

"That doesn't seem very fair"

"What do you mean?"

"The numbers aren't going to be equal" I said looking at the differences in the numbers in each section.

"It doesn't matter, you eventually have each coach, we switch units ever couple months, it's just a matter of which you get first, and who is in your class"

"Oh"

"And lucky for you, you get to be in our class" Penguin said putting his hands on my shoulders.

"I can't wait for the swim unit!" Shachi said "I'd bet she'd look hot in a bathing suit" Shachi said to Penguin not even attempting to stop me from hearing it

"S-Swimming?" I asked nervously _*gulp* _

"Yeah, there's a swimming unit, an outdoor games unit, an indoor games unit, and a training unit, and no matter which unit you are in every Wednesday there is a mandatory 'fitness day' that is either some type of painful game or tortuous activity" He explained

"O-okay" I said still dreading a swim class "And what are you staring at?" I snapped at Law who I realized had been looking at me smugly.

"Hm, nothing" he taunted

Before I could snap back at him I remembered that he had seen my using my devil fruit power.

I narrowed my eyes and stared directly at him, not allowing him to turn away. His eyes, they were so mournful, a deep, melancholy grey, they sunk into his face and where outlined by deep, dark circles. "What are you hiding…" I thought seeing something in his eyes other than the spite which he had colored across his face "They say that our eyes speak the truth" I thought remembering something my real mother had said to me when I was a baby, that was one of the only times I remember my mom, she had soft chocolate brown hair, just like mine, dark black eyes and a soft smile. In all of the memories of my mother, she was always smiling. I can still feel the gentle touch of my mom's hand as she's slowly caress my check and softly whisper gentle words to me. I couldn't remember much else, I had lived with Berverly since I was about three and I never liked the woman, there was something about her that, as young as I was, made me detest her. I smiled meekly and turned my head to face the speaker in the middle of the floor once again "...Trafalgar Law?"

"Section One, you are to report to Coach Aokiji for Indoor Games"

"We must be section two then" I thought

"Section Two, you begin with the Outdoor Games unit with Coach Garp"

I let out a quiet sigh of relief "phew, no swimming" I thought

"Section Three, you will begin the Swim Unit with Coach Jimbei, and Section Four you have Training with Coach Morgan, you are to report to your assigned coach at this time" he stated as the crowd of kids began to migrate onto the floor.

"Which one is Coach Garp?"

"Just follow us Virginia!"

"We'll show you!" Shachi can Penguin cooed as they happily skipped in front of me

"Oh no, not him too" I thought seeing that Kid was also in this class

My thoughts were interrupted when I heard familiar voices screaming my name.

"Hey, Virginia!" Luffy shouted

"Virginia-chan!" Sanji sang

"Luffy, Sanji, Zoro, Robin, Usopp, Franky!" Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad class after all, so many of my new friends were there too. I walked away from Shachi, Penguin, Law, and Bepo to meet up with the others.

"You're in this class too?" Luffy asked

"Yeah"

"Hee hee, great!" Luffy smiled enthusiastically as a gruff looking old man walked up to us

"he must be Coach Garp" I thought.

"Luffy!" the old man barked

"What Granddad?"

"Granddad?" I thought

"What did I say about bringing all your friends to my class?"

"You said they annoy you"

"Right, so why did you bring them here again?" The old man snapped

"Because they annoy you"

"Stop that you miserable brat! That's no way for a Marine to act!"

"I'm not going into the Marines, I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates!"

"No you will not, you and your brother are both going to be strong marines!" Coach Garp protested

Luffy stuck out his tongue and Coach Garp punched the back of his head "Ow! Granddad! That hurt! How can that hurt, I'm made of rubber!"

"Bwa, ha, ha, ha" Coach Garp laughed "That's why you need to join the Marines, son"

"No!" Luffy protested and what followed was a series of growls and then snoring.

"They fell asleep?"

"Coach Garp!" a young man stated waking the old man up "We have to get started"

"Ah, right, thank you" He said "Now, this is the outdoor games portion of your gym class, in this we will be playing such sports as football, soccer, and baseball, we will meet at this door every day and will head to the appropriate field" he continued "tomorrow, as it is Wednesday we will meet in the upper gym for dodge ball" He continued. "which means you will be chaning into your uniforms tomorrow"

"Uniform?" I thought

"Now, you are to head to the locker room offices and the attendants will assign you each your locker" he dismissed us

"Come on Virginia, I'll show you" Robin offered

"Alright" I said as we walked down the hall to the girls' locker room

"So, that's Luffy's grandfather?" I asked

"Yeah" She giggled "You can see the resemblance can't you?"

"I guess you can" I replied thinking back to their childish fight that ended with them both falling asleep.

We walked up to the office where the locker room attendants worked and waited to be given a locker number and lock.

"Robin, why don' you go ahead of me, I should probably wait since I may need to work something out"

"Alright" she said as I waited aside the line to ask the attendant about the uniforms.

"Name" she said to me

"Oh, it's Emerson D. Virginia, I just transferred here today, I may not be on the list"

"Hm, let me see"

"Also, I must inquire about the uniforms, exactly what are they?"

"You were the private school girl right?" she asked in a mocking voice

"Um, yes"

"Here" she said as she flung a surprisingly formfitting white tee shirt and a pair of red terry shorts at me. "that's the smallest size we have" she said as she scribbled a locker number on a piece of paper and handed me a lock

"Locker number 632" I said as I looked down the rows lockers.

"Here it is" I thought as I placed the uniform inside and locked in and walked back to the main gym just as the bell rang to end the day.

I turned down the tunnel to go back the way that I had come with Law. I passed the turnoff for the Grand Auditorium again. "Hmm, it wouldn't hurt just to see what it looks like right, for educational purposes" I rationalized

I walked down the hall and entered the building. It was quite spacious and a certain antiquated appeal, the entire building was designed perfectly to cooperate with the sounds "They just don't make things like this anymore do they?" I asked myself as I walked down the rows of elegant seats observing the exquisite detail on the walls. I walked to the old, sturdy, wooden stage and tapped my fingers on it hearing the echo from the hollowed inside. I walked up the short set of stairs clutching the cold raw iron railing and stepping onto the dark, well-worn wood. "It doesn't seem as hollow as I thought, I wonder why that is?" I inquired as I hopped down off the stage to the carpeted ground below. "Hmm, what do we have here?" I wondered looking at a door in the side of the stage with a large lock on it. My curiosity peaked and decided I had to know what was inside. "Reflect" I said as the light from the ceiling lamps bounced off my hands and hit the lock, opening it.

I pushed open the thick wooden door and crept inside "Well, now, what is this" I said intrigued "Interesting" I muttered out loud as I rummaged through the various documents and folders stored in the small room. "It seems like no one even knows these are here, they must not have been touched for years" I thought flipping through the records. "Hmm, I wonder…"

"Is someone there?" a stern voice boomed in the vacant room.

* * *

I just couldn't resist adding Garp to the mix, if no other reason at all, it's at the very least a nice comical reprise.

I don't own One Piece.


	7. Chapter 7: Promises

"Is someone there?" the voice barked again.

I swallowed hard and held my breath as I tucked further inside the room.

"I know I heard something" The voice declared

I crawled army style to the doorway and extended my hand into the light "Reflection" I said as an image of a tall man wearing a burgundy suit and a white baseball cap appeared on the floor in front of me. He had a square jaw and small eyes that were filled with rage as he looked around the building and began walking down the row of seats towards the stage.

"Great, just what I need" I thought as I pulled the door shut praying I didn't make a sound as I tucked into the corner, clutching my knees tightly to my chest waiting for the man to suddenly open the door.

To my surprise, however, I heard the relieving sound of footsteps walking away, a sound I never thought I'd be so happy to hear. To be safe I waited in the room for a couple of minutes before leaving.

"I'll need to make it a point of coming back here to get a better look, but I just can't risk him coming back right now" I thought to myself still slightly shaken by the ordeal and somewhat expecting him to be waiting on the other side of the door for me.

I ducked out and shut the door behind me, with any luck at all; no one would notice the lock was missing. I hurried back out the exit that lead to the tunnel and walked down to the main building and up the four flights of stairs to my locker on the third floor.

When I reached the floor I walked to the back hall where my locker was, I saw Law kneeling in front of a locker about two away from mine as he slung a black bag over his shoulder and walked down the hall in the opposite direction.

"So that's why he knew where my locker was… oh so that's why he knew where my locker was" I realized and I keyed in the combination and opened my locker. I pulled everything out of my bag; I wasn't about to do any homework today, picked up my bag, slammed my locker door shut and began to walk down the hall again. "Dammit, I forgot to go to the library to get my books" I said as I hurried back down to the main floor.

"Excuse me, I need to pick up some books" I said to the short, old woman behind the counter

"Can I have your name?"

"Emerson"

"Virginia?"

"Yes" I replied as she motioned me behind the counter and pointed at a large stack of textbooks.

"Are all of those mine?" I asked dumbfounded by the large quantity of books sitting on the table

"Yes" she said looking at me as if I was growing a second head.

Knowing there wasn't some way I could just decide I didn't want them; if I wanted to stay out of trouble; so I started shoving books into my bag and carrying the rest as I left the library and turned down the hall to make the trek back up the three flights of stairs to my locker.

"I hate all the fucking stairs in this school" I thought as I angrily shoved the textbooks into my locker and slammed the door shut and walked down the three flights, again.

I walked out the front entrance and headed down the sidewalk to get home. "I'm already late, Beverly's gonna lose her shit again" I thought "but what else is new, the woman hates my very existence"

"Hey! Virginia!" Luffy cooed as he noticed me walking by. He was standing near the school with all of this friends as he waved idiotically calling me over.

"Well, Beverly was gonna be pissed no matter what, might as well delay seeing her for a little while longer.

"Hey guys" I said

"Luffy, we should all give her our shell-phone numbers so we can keep in contact" Nami suggested

"What a fantastic idea Nami-san!" Sanji sang enthusiastically.

Everyone seemed to agree upon the idea so we exchanged numbers.

"So, Virginia, what do you think of the school so far?" Zoro asked

"I like it more than my old school" I said

"Really, you like this more than a fancy private school?" Franky asked

"Ember really wasn't the type of school I like" I stated

"Then why did you go there for so long?"

"Well, I got pushed into it my…mom" I cringed at the thought of calling her that but I didn't want to go and read my life story to people I had only just met "and I guess I really never knew anything else, and then I found a purpose for going there I guess" I said not wanting to say anything to get them involved, since Luffy seemed like the kind of guy who would want to jump in and help me.

"Oh, why didn't you like it though, it seems pretty good to be considered a prodigy"

"Maybe, but they're all the same, and none of them cared about anyone of anything but themselves and their stupid name, and how they look to other people" I said "and I can't stand that" I said frowning.

"Well, you won't have to worry about that anymore!" Luffy said smiling

"Thanks" I muttered managing a small smile.

"And what do you mean by a purpose?" Zoro asked

I took a deep breath and decided that lying to them was not the best way to start a friendship "well, first I should tell you what the true purpose of Ember Academy really is" I started "It was originally created as a school for students who wanted to go into the Navy, that way they were trained with the finest education so they'd be more equipped to serve the World Government, however, the original founder died, and the school was left in the hands of his step brother, his name was known only as Maynard. He dismissed the idea of educating soldiers and reformed the academy into an organization which brainwashed they brightest minds of tomorrow into loyal allies for the government, that way, not only would they never be a threat but they would be able to also be able to work for the World Government, and that is today, still the main purpose of Ember Academy. To add to this, Maynard actually opened the school up to younger kids to be able to tap their fragile minds earlier therefore they'd be less likely to figure out what was actually going on. Ember was the only school which I attended, but I never fully trusted those who worked there, and I somehow figured out what was really going on. I put up with the torture for a while, being hated by the other students for my different views, but I had to be able to stay under the radar so they wouldn't suspect me for anything. I made my first attempt to try and convince the other students the things they were being taught weren't but it only resulted in their further disdain towards me, as well as being figured out by the high-ups at the school, Rendi, that was the kid who told them, Rendi is a boy of the nobility, and would do anything within his power to please the World Government, and the World Nobles, and he makes that very clear. Anyway, after the school found out about my ideals they subjected me to various forms of torture to breakdown my willpower in attempt to open my mind up to the brainwashing, but I wouldn't fall into their traps, however pretended to in order to maintain my enrollment so I could gain access to the files"

"What files?" Robin demanded

"The files that were stored in the basement of the school, they reveal all of the injustices of the World Government, all the scandals and cover ups, all the lies they've told and the wrongs they've done, they're all written and kept there, I became increasingly passionate about exposing all of this after the disappearance of my fellow student, and only friend, Roslind, she aspired to be a scientist, she accidently stumbled upon something concerning the Celestial Dragons that she shouldn't have, and the World Government found out, to avoid at crisis they disposed of the girl, and covered up the story, however, I knew that with the little proof I was able to salvage I knew there was no way I would be able to convince anyone that anything had ever happened, and there was no way that I was going to let go of the incident, it was the only reason I stayed"

Everyone stared at me. "Is all of that true?"

"What would I have to gain from making up something like that?"

Again, the silence fell. "Virginia, do you want to let them get away with that?" Luffy asked in a serious voice.

"What?"

"Are you going to let them get away with murdering your friend?"

"No" I said holding back tears "I will never let them get away with this, not just for Roslind, but for all the others who suffered at their hands"

"Then it's settled" Luffy declared as he clenched his fists tightly "we know what we have to do"

"What? You don't mean we're challenging the entire world!" Usopp protested

"We're going to turn this world on its head, and I'm gonna kick that Maynard guys ass"

"Luffy…" I whispered

"Are you guys in or not?" he asked as he placed his hand in the center of us.

"I'm in" Zoro said

"I'll stand by you, Luffy" Rabin declared

"Me too, you'll need someone with my navigation skills" Nami said

"Yohoho, of course, Luffy-san" Brook agreed

"I will! you'll need a good doctor to take care of you all" Chopper stated

"And a cook" Sanji smiled placing his hand in the center

"I'll join you too, Luffy" Franky grinned

"Of course I will! I am the brave sea fighter Usopp, I never turn down an adventure!" Usopp said placing his hand on the top as his legs shook.

"Virginia, we'll you join us"

"Of course I will" I grinned

"Then it's official, we're gonna become pirates and conquer the Grand Line, find the One Piece, and take down the World Government!" Luffy declared as tears began to well up in my eyes.

In these volatile, in the Great Pirate Era, as everyone took to the seas to find the greatest treasure of all, the One Piece, and violence sprung up in nearly every corner of the world, it was easy to talk big, yet somehow I knew that Luffy wasn't one to just talk, and that was that, our own declaration of war against the World Government. The same promise that would hold true throughout the rest of our time in high school until the date which we had vowed to set out to sea, the day we'd graduate from Paramount High.

* * *

**A/N:** Yeah! Finally, somewhat of a plot, I'm surprised it happened this fast to be honest, I thought, maybe I should note that the plot isn't just high school and such, there's actually some substance to it.

Maynard is taken from Lt. Maynard, the man who killed Blackbeard (in real life) and Roslind is taken from Rosalind Franklin, the female scientist who worked with DNA, I hope they're both okay with that.

I had to add the part about shell-phones, I wasn't content with just a cell phone, so I made up a whole backstory to it, so Dr. Livingstone (name taken form a Scottish doctor, that has nothing to do with who he actually is, I just liked the name) was a prominent fishman scientist, and partner of Dr. Vegapunk, he developed the communication device so it would be easier to communicate with the surface world, but they became popular among the general public on fishman island. But, since fishmen are so heavily persecuted by the humans he asked his dear friend Dr. Vegapunk to introduce the invention on the surface, which he did and now they're as he has put it "all the rage with the youth of today"


	8. Chapter 8: Take it as it Comes

I walked the short distance home, knowing I was late. I silently slipped inside hoping I wouldn't be seen.

"Where the hell have you been?" Greeted Beverly's ever so pleasant voice.

"School" I murmured sarcastically

"You're late" she stated the obvious

"It was my first day, I had things to do" I said smugly

"You had better not be late again" She scolded as she stomped out of the room.

I collected my things and headed down to my basement room.

The next morning I made sure that I woke up earlier to give myself more time and avoid rushing out the door. I dressed myself in distressed blue jeans which I had so intelligently cut myself, a grey tee shirt and a dark blue denim vest adorned with various patches and buttons, an oatmeal colored knit beret, and black canvas sneakers. I allowed my hair to maintain its natural waviness and headed upstairs. I threw together a lunch and packed my bag and set off for my second day of school.

I entered the orange brick building and walked up to my third floor locker to grab my books.

"Alright, first period is…" I thought as I fumbled through my bag to pull out my schedule "World Studies with Dr. Sakazuki"

I slammed the door to my locker shut and wandered down the hall occasionally observing the plethora of students crowding the halls chatting freely amongst themselves. I came to the room with the same number as the one marked on my schedule and ambled in.

"You're the new one, aren't you" a voice barked. I looked up in that direction as was taken aback by the sight, a tall man in a burgundy suit.

"That's the man I saw in the Grand Auditorium yesterday" I thought.

I stood their frozen as my brain scrambled to find the words to answer him with.

"Uh, y-yes, I am" I stuttered "my name is…"

"Great, just great" He muttered sounding displeased

"Geez, what crawled up his…"

"Virginia-chan!"

"Sanji?"

"You look gorgeous!" He squealed as he wrapped his arms around me.

"It's nice to see you too, Sanji" I smiled

"Keep your hands to yourself" Dr. Sakazuki said gruffly and Sanji immediately obliged and returned to his seat in the second row.

I scanned the classroom with was mercifully free of Law, and Kid of that matter

"You can sit right here" He said pointing to the seat closest to his desk "I'll have to keep my eye on you, I heard you got kicked out of your last school, and I don't know what you did, but, I'll have you know that I won't stand of any of it" he said, his small eyes squinted at me, challenging me, daring me.

Unable to form any audible words I nodded and quickly sat down.

Ace walked into the classroom just as the bell rang and sat down beside me; Dr. Sakazuki shot him a cold unforgiving glare and walked to the front of the classroom.

"Now" He began "we left off yesterday discussing the terrifying state of the world at this time. A world that was thrown into turmoil by the actions of one man, that scum, Gold Roger" He continued with an evil look in his eyes and a malicious grin on his face.

Ace scowled up at the man and tightly clenched his fists. "Ace?" I thought wondering what was setting him off, but I wasn't about to start conversing during the lesson, God only knows what Dr. Sakazuki would do to me.

"Ever since that day the world has entered a forsaken era, an era in which the seas are no longer safe of just a mere traveler. The Grand Line, the world's greatest sea is now flooded with barbarians, blinded by their own moronic greed, in search for the treasure Roger supposedly left at the end of the Grand Line" he went on with his more than biased lecture. "And now, another force, which poses just as big a threat to the Navy, world's most perfect organization, the newly formed Revolutionary Army, spearheaded by that filth, Dragon" I rolled my eyes at the Ember professor reject who was continuing to uncontrollably spew biased bullshit.

"Tomorrow how about you cut me limb from limb and slowly skin me alive" I thought "maybe we can try waterboarding, or any other form of cruel and unusual punishment your old world mind can think of, just please, for the of all that I good in this world keep your mouth closed for once!"

After what felt like an eternity in hell the bell rang, and what a joyous sound it was. I scrapped up my booked and headed to math.

I walked into the class room refreshingly early and pulled out the paper with the problems I was supposed to do for homework.

"Maybe I should've done this last night" I laughed to myself at the preposterous thought and slaved over the basic algebra equations.

"That's not such a good girl who does her homework in class" Heckled the malevolent voice of Kid

"Why would I waste my time doing this at home?"

"Because you're the teachers fucking pet"

"Excuse me, but do you even know me?" I asked staring him down, completely pissed by the conclusion he had drawn about me.

He didn't respond verbally, I only received a small scowl in return.

"Then don't be so quick to pass judgments" I snapped as I turned around leaving him with a maniacal and somewhat dumbfounded look on his face

"What's with that look Eustass? Still haven't caught up on your beauty sleep?" Law smirked as he sat down between us.

"What are you saying Trafalgar?"

"Me? Oh nothing, you wouldn't understand it anyway" He continued in his disrespectful manner

The bell sounded and Mr. Smoker commenced his routine of checking in the previous night's homework. I glanced over at the two desks beside me, both empty.

"Did you do your homework?" Law asked mockingly

"Go fuck yourself" Kid responded sharply

"I'm just worried, don't you have some wild aspirations to be… oh, wait, that's right, you're perfectly satisfied being a failure"

"At least I'm honest with myself about it, you still haven't come to terms with your own stupidity"

"Nothing again you two? As I've said many times before if you don't get your act together you are not going to pass this class and I hope you realize that you need to have passed four years of math in order to graduate, it's a wonder you've made it to your third, but maybe I'm wasting my breath, you two obviously don't care" Mr. Smoker scolded as he glanced at the sheet on my desk "I see you've managed to navigate your way through the chapter on your own" he said as he continued checking the homework and returning to the front of the room.

"Today we will begin reviewing for the test next Thursday" he declared

"We're reviewing already? The test is more than a week away"

"I will pass out these review packets and you are to work on them, you can work by yourself or in groups. They are due the day of the test, if you have any questions please ask a neighbor, or ask me" He said sternly as we passed out the review packets and sat down at his desk.

I quickly busied myself doing the simple algebra problems when I felt someone standing behind me.

"I don't get any of this" a sinister voice breathed directly into my ear "Maybe you can help me?" he said as he placed his arm around my shoulder.

"Um, o-okay, what don't you get" I said as I turned around and looked directly at Kid as he pointed to the first question

"Oh, well, um since you have an _x _in each term, and each term is also divisible by two you can take out a 2_x _and that's all you can factor in this particular instance"

"Oh, I see" I said in a voice that made it clear he wasn't interested in math "and what about this one"? He smirked pointing to the second problem

"Well, can you take anything out of it?"

"Um, no?"

"Right, now can you think of a way to factor it?"

"Um…no?"

"Right, so you have to use the quadratic formula, now, you can always use the quadratic formula for an _x__2_ problem, it's just more work, and do you know the quadratic formula?"

"Er, no" he said hesitantly

"Ha, that's okay" I laughed slightly "it's 'x equals negative b plus or minus the square root of b2 minus four times ac all over two a" I stated remembering how that was rammed into our brains to the point that we would never be able to forget it and Ember

"Um, what?"

"Here" I said as I wrote out on the top of his paper.

"Hm…" he studied the paper for a moment before looking back up at me

"a is the _x_2 term, b is the _x _term, and c is the term without the _x_" I explained

"Okay" he said as he once again put his arm around me and leaned in and whispered in my ear "this isn't really the best place for you to teach me, why don't you give me your number and you can give me a one on one lesson at your house" he smiled devilishly and I cringed at the thought yet somehow I was unable to stop myself from scribbling out my number on a sheet of paper and handing it to him.

"Great, we'll be in touch" he said and returned to his seat.

"Shit, did I just give him my actual number" I said waiting anxiously for the bell to ring.

Again, I sat to Zoro and Usopp in Language Arts.

"So, he finally did it" Zoro said

"What?"

"Finally declared that we're all gonna be pirates, he's been talking about that ever since we met hi" Zoro said

"Oh, Luffy, yeah" I thought

"I can't believe that idiot got me involved in this, especially now" Usopp complained

"Nothing to worry about? Sea Kings, the navy, other pirates, bounty hunters, and the terrible waters of the Grand Line! How can you say there's nothing to worry about!" He snapped back

"Have faith in your friends Usopp, we're all gonna protect one another" I said calmly

"oh right, because a bunch of sixteen year old kids can take on the entire world!"

"Well, they definitely won't expect it!"Zoro chimed in and Usopp growled back at him.

Ms. Hina began her lecture on various kinds of figurative language and described the project we would be doing for her class.

Usopp and I walked up the stairs and into the physics classroom. Kid was waiting near the door when I came in

"Hey, I wanna talk to you" He growled

"Alright" I said heading over to his lab table

"V-Virginia, what does **he** want with you?" Usopp said as he grabbed my arm, his eyes pleaded me not to go.

I shrugged "Don't know"

"Then why are you going over there?"

"Don't know" I smiled again

"Don't be reckless"

"I'm not, I'm having and intelligent conversation with a fellow student"

I walked over to his lab table

"Virginia, nice to see you, these are my friends, Killer, Heat, and Wire" He said as he pointed to the three other boys sitting at the table

"It's a pleasure, now what did you want to talk to me about"

"I was thinking, I really need to study for that test, I think we should begin our after school tutoring sessions today"

"Okay, fine with me"

"Great we'll meet at your house"

"Okay, fi… My house?"

"Yeah, where else?"

"Wouldn't like the library be better?"

"Nah, too many distractions"

"Well, alright" I agreed not wanting to get into a fight with him "I'm screwed" I thought "But at least I can give Beverly a good scare when I bring that guy home" I laughed to myself "maybe this isn't such a bad idea"

"Good morning Virginia" Mr. Newgate said as he proudly stood outside his classroom

"Hi Virginia!" Shachi said

"Why don't you come sit with us today" Penguin insisted

"Oh, I'm sorry, I was kind of hoping to sit with my friends…"

"Aren't we your friends?" the two asked showing me their puppy dog eyes from behind their caps

"Oh, of course but…"

"She obviously doesn't want to sit with us so just let her go" Law said harshly

I walked over to sit with Robin, Luffy and Ace.

"So, guys, I say we make it official"

"What?" we all asked

"Out vow to fight the World Government and become pirates" Luffy smiled proudly

"What vow?" Ace asked

"Oh, yeah, Ace, we made a vow, when we graduate we're gonna take on the World Government and find the One Piece, I'm gonna be the captain" Luffy said already getting ahead of himself "You can join my crew!"

"Only if I get to be the captain"

"No way, I'm the captain!"

"Then maybe I'll form my own crew"

"Go ahead, we'll beat you" Luffy said sticking his tongue out

"Really, Luffy, how many times have I had to save you?"

"It's different now, I'm in high school! I've gotten much stronger since then" he pouted

"Whatever" Ace said

"So anyway, guys, I say we make it official"

"How do you propose we do that?"

"We'll swear on cups of sake!" He said

"Great, I know just the place" I smiled "we can go there during lunch"

"Oh, but I still wanna have lunch!" Luffy complained

"You'll still get to have lunch, Luffy"

"You should come to Ace, it's not a vow to join our crew, just that we'll become great pirates"

"Okay" Ace agreed

We all headed down to the cafeteria for lunch. While we waited for everyone to arrive we all began eating, Luffy, as usual was shoveling massive amounts of food into his mouth.

"Do you always eat that much?"

"Yes, he does" Sanji said "He's got a big appetite for such a small man"

"One of the perks of being rubber" Luffy laughed

"Luffy, did you eat a devil fruit"

"Hee, hee, yeah, I ate the Gum-Gum fruit, I'm a rubber man" he smiled and returned to his food

When everyone had arrived at the lunch table Luffy stated his plan.

"And Virginia said she had a place we could go"

"Yeah, come on follow me" I said

"Do you have the sake Luffy?"

"Yep!"

"Where did you even get that?"

"I stole it from Dadan"

"Dadan's gonna kill you if she ever finds out" Ace warned

"She won't find out"

"I'm not sure; I wouldn't get between that woman and her booze"

"It's just one bottle of sake!"

"okay, you two quit bickering" I said as I lead them down the tunnel into the Grand Auditorium

"Where is it?" Luffy yelled

"Keep your voice down, here" I said pointing to the door on the side of the stage

"I thought they locked those? How'd you get in?"

"I had a little help from the light, and the Mirror-Mirror fruit" I grinned

"You have a devil fruit?"

"Yeah" I said smiling sheepishly

"AWESOME!" Luffy shouted

"Luffy, please, keep your voice down"

"Hmph, okay" he pouted.

I pulled open the thick, wooden door and we all crawled inside. Luffy gave us each a sake cup and poured the sake for us.

"Once we drink this sake, we will now have officially taken a vow against the World Government and made a promise to follow our dreams." Luffy declared.

He raised his cup over as high as he possibly could in the enclosed space. "To become the king of the pirates!"

"To become the world's greatest swordsman!" Zoro said

"To draw a map of the entire world!" Nami stated

"To become a great doctor!" Chopper announced

"To find the All-Blue!" Sanji proclaimed

"To build a ship that can sail the entire Grand-Line!" Franky stated

"To become a brave warrior of the seas!" Usopp declared

"To find the Ponegyphs and unlock the Void-Century" Robin avowed

"To find my lost friend Laboon!" Brook affirmed

"To expose the truth!" I proclaimed

"To make my own name!" Ace announced

"Then it's official! We will accomplish our dreams!" Luffy shouted and we all clanked out glasses in toast of our promise and drank the sake.

* * *

**A/N **Don't over speculate on the fact that Luffy was able sneak a bottle of sake into the school, he's just Luffy, therefore it is possible. And if some devil fruit that has anything to do with mirrors already exists I'm sorry, I didn't find any though.


	9. Chapter 9: I Play to Win

"Then it's official" Luffy declared "we will accomplish our dreams!" He shouted as we clanked our glasses and set in motion our vow for the future.

"I suggested we make this our meeting place, like our Headquarters" Luffy said

"I agree. I doubt that many people even know about this place, and even if they do I doubt they'd suspect that we were using it as our pirate headquarter, we'd be able to come here without anyone knowing" I agreed "But we'll have to keep it a secret, we don't want anyone finding out about it" I warned neglecting to tell them about Dr. Sakazuki.

"So Virginia, what is all this stuff anyway?" Usopp asked looking at all the files and records strewn about the room.

"Files, they contain the records of each staff member as well as past students, but obviously it hasn't been touched in years, so I don't know what the most recent records that are stored here are, I haven't had enough time to study them"

"So why are they some important?"

"Because, like Ember, government records are also stored here. You see, when the World Government seized control over all learning institutions they figured that they could store their files in the schools since they'd be safe there, which is true, a school needs to keep their files for future reference so it would be a safe place, and likewise most people don't go looking through the records without purpose."

"So, you're gonna be studying all of these?" Zoro asked as he picked up the bottle of sake

"Of course she is, she wants justice for her friend" Sanji barked

"That's true, but these files are much older than that, but I'm after more than just that, but I do want justice for her" I said clenching my fists and choking back tears

"You want some?" Zoro asked offering me the bottle of sake

"No, I'm good" I chuckled lightly "and you shouldn't be drinking that much this early" I teased

"I'm not gonna let good sake go to waste!" He laughed and downed the rest of the sake and slammed the bottle on the ground.

"Well, shouldn't we be heading back now?" Franky asked

"I guess, come on" Luffy lead as we all crawled out from under the stage.

I closed the door and we left the auditorium.

Sanji and I walked to the study hall room since it was Wednesday. We entered the stark room filled with only about sixteen tables with two chairs pushed up against each and one teacher's desk. Sanji and I sat next to each other at a table near the back.

The supervisor of the study hall came up to us with a dissatisfied look on his face. He was tall, with slicked back, black hair, and a large scar across his face, he wore a heavy green coat over an orange vest and white shirt, he was missing his left hand, and in its place was a large gold hook.

"Are you Emerson D. Virginia?" He asked in a voice which made it obvious that he was not amused.

"Yes Mr. Crocodile"

"Sir Crocodile" He corrected gruffly as he walked back to his desk.

"Alright, no talking" He said before he sat down at his desk and turned his attention to his computer.

"Is he serious?" I thought as I observed everyone in the whole class silently working on something. I suddenly missed health class.

After the painfully boring and freakishly silent class ended I left the study hall and headed for Spanish class. Halfway up the stairs I noticed Law was walking behind me.

"Hello? How are you? Do you need something?" I asked as he just walked silently "What's his deal?" I thought to myself as I looked at his sad eyes against the stoic expression on his face. "Is something the matter?" I asked him out of my own curiosity.

"No, what would make you think that?" he snapped

"Because you're eyes are screaming it" I said

He started at me with a confused look on his face "What are you talking about?" he denied

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to" I said sympathetically

"I already told you! There's nothing fucking wrong!" He shouted which was enough of a confirmation for me that there was definitely something wrong.

"Hola chicos" Mr. Donquixote greeted

"Hola Sr. Donquixote" I replied

"Buenas tardes. ¿Como estás?

"Muy bien, gracias"

"¿A ti te gusta esta escuela?"

"Sí, es mejor que la escuela yo he asistido en el pasado"

"Es bueno. ¿Necesitas preguntar el camino mucho? Esta escuela es bastante grande."

"No, no mucho porque yo tengo unos amigos nuevos que me ayudan"

"Es bueno que tú ya sepas mucho tan temprano"

"Sí, y…"

"Okay, that's quite enough, quit showing off" Law interjected

"Senor Trafalgar, no gritas a una chica" Mr. Donquixote scolded.

"Lo siento"

"No me importa, él está un poco triste hoy"

"¿Es verdad? Pobrecito" Mr. Donquixote smiled his usual wild and somewhat sinister smile.

"What did you say to him?" Law demanded

"Nothing" I grinned as we walked into the classroom

After Spanish ended I found myself walking to Art with Law.

"We're in the studio today right?"

"Yeah, I think so, Shanks said we were painting or something"

"I guess you can't show off to very guy in the room then" He said smugly

"What are you getting at? Are you challenging me?"

"So you're that kind of girl"

"And what kind of girl would that be?"

He chuckled mischievously, casually ignoring the question.

"Can I ask you something" he asked genuinely

"Well, that would depend on what you plan on asking"

"Can I take that as a yes?"

"You may"

"Are you actually letting Eustass go over to your house?"

"Kid? Yeah, why? Are you worried about me?" I teased

"No, but I just wanted to let you know he's going to try and take advantage of you"

"Oh, how sweet, you are worried about me, and to think I thought you were so heartless"

"I'm just warning you, but you can do whatever the fuck you want to!" He protested firmly.

"That bastard will never change" I thought shaking my head, apparently now an expert on him since I had known him for a whole day.

We walked into the art studio and waited for Shanks to arrive to announce the new project we'd be starting today.

I sat next to Ace, Killer then took the other seat next to me and Law walked to the opposite side of the room as Shanks casually strolled into the classroom with a grin on his face.

"Are you guys as excited about this project as I am?" He laughed loudly as he dropped a down on the counter and proceeded to rake out images of scenes from various islands. "We're gonna be focusing on photography right now" He stated

"Photography, I thought he said painting?" I thought

"I am going to dismiss you in small groups to take pictures. You can go pretty much wherever you want, and feel free to take picture outside of school as well" he continued "At the end of the week, as a group, you'll have to submit to me a portfolio with all of the picture you've taken, then you can each select your favorite image and you're going to paint it in a monochromatic color scheme!"

"That does sound like a pretty neat project" I thought "and there's a lot of freedom, we'd never get that much freedom on a project at Ember, Hell, we never even had any creative classes, let alone a teacher, or a student for that matter, who's as awesome as Shanks" I thought

"You can pick your own groups just make sure you check in with me, I have to lend you out the cameras" he said "how does five per group sound, any objections? Okay then pick your groups and get to it" He advised.

Ace turned to me "We're partners right?" he said

"Of course" I smiled thinking of our vow over the sake, it just seems fitting that we'd all still be friends, even if we don't end up in the same crew.

"Can we join your group?" Killer asked

"Who's we?" I asked

"Me, Hawkins, and Apoo" He said pointing to the two other boys behind him

"Um, sure, that makes five, so we're good to go" I said noticing Law standing alone, not trying to join another group.

"Damn my heart for sympathizing with his sad eyes" I thought

"Law, do you want to join our group?"

"Oh, how sweet, you're worried about me" He teased

"Okay, then, bye" I said as I motioned the four boys to follow me.

"Well, it's not like I have any other choice" He said following

"He can't, that's six people and…"

"Shanks, can we have one extra person in our group?"

"Sure, but you have to keep them all under control"

"Alright" I laughed as he handed me a camera and wrote down our names on a slip of paper

"Do you guys have any ideas of what you want to take pictures of?" I asked

"Let's go back to Shanks' room" Apoo suggested

"Fine by me, any objections, form anyone other than Law" I said to avoid the conflict which would inevitably ensue if I didn't first control the situation.

We walked across the hall into Shanks' room and I happily snapped pictures of the guitars on the wall and Shanks' generous collection of records.

"Where else should we go?" Ace asked

"We should probably just go back now, we have like five minutes left" I suggested and we walked the short distance across the hall from Shanks' room to the studio.

Law walked aloofly behind me as we walked up to biology.

"What's gotten into him?" I wondered as we sat down at our lab table.

"Today class, we will begin our study of the human skeletal system, as you can see you have a miniature model of an average human skeleton, you are to fill out this diagraming worksheet based upon the model" Mr. Mihawk said as he places the works sheets on the front counter.

Koby got up to get the worksheet. "Get one for me too Koby" Helmeppo said

"Fine, and you guys, too?" he asked

"Sure that's nice of you" I said as he returned with the four sheets.

Law picked up the worksheet and immediately began filling in the answers like it was just second nature to him.

"Whoa, you really know this stuff" I said looking at his paper.

"Didn't Eustass tell you?"

"What?"

"My goal is to become a doctor" he said "and those are the metacarpals" he said pointing to the next blank on my paper

"Oh thanks" I said "He's actually really smart, how can he be doing so poorly in his other classes?" I thought "I just can't figure this guy out"

"Turn in your worksheets before you leave today, tomorrow we will lecture" Mr. Mihawk said just as the bell rang.

"Ready for dodge ball?" Law asked as we walked down the stairs to the tunnel.

"Why, what's the catch?"

"You've obviously never played dodge ball with coach Garp before, which makes sense, you are new"

"Is that supposed to insult me? " he shrugged "And what's that supposed to mean anyway?"

"I'll let you figure that on out for yourself" He smirked

After changing into our uniform for gym class we met up in the upper gym where Coach Garp had told us to meet.

"Okay children" Coach Garp started "Everyone, grab a ball and line up against the wall" he instructed.

"Aren't games like this usually played on teams, is this old man really going to try to go against us alone?" I thought

"Everyone ready?" He asked as he blew the whistle around his neck.

He stood there almost completely still, only slightly moving to dodge an incoming ball from hitting him. "Observation Haki?" I wondered observing the old man's actions. A wide grin appeared across his face as he picked up a ball and whipped it across the room. "Whoa, what the fuck kind of old man is he?" I wondered glancing over at Law who had a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Reflect" I yelled and sent the ball flying back

"Devil fruit powers are against the rules!" Coach Garp yelled

"Then what do you call what you're doing?" I asked

"Bwahahaha! You think I'm using a devil fruit?" He laughed

"What? Can someone really be naturally that strong?" I thought

"But go ahead, have it your way" he said

"Reflect!" I said repeatedly trying to not get hit since I was now the coach's main target.

"She's pretty good with balls" Penguin said

"Shut up! Refract!" I yelled sending one of the balls at him

"Ouch, what did I do?"

"Sorry Shachi, it was meant for Penguin, you just got in the way"

"You're still out" Coach Garp laughed

"Dammit!" He yelled throwing a ball at Penguin

"Hey!"

"You're out too"

"Thanks a lot!" the two continued bickering as they walked off of the court.

As the game carried on more and more people got out and it got down to Kid, Luffy, Law, and I.

"Uh, timeout!" I yelled

"You can't call a time out in dodge ball"

"Show me the rule!" I said ad I called the guys over "okay, we need a plan, that's the only way we'll win"

"What do you suggest, no one's ever beaten Coach Garp before; he's too strong"

"Well, I can block anything, but there's no way anything I throw could be able to hit him, he's too skilled in Observational Haki, and there's no way we can catch anything he throws, even if I can slow it down slightly it won't be enough, so our only option is to hit him, how are you guys at throwing?

"You're Devil Fruit powers are so cool!" Luffy cheered

"Yes , well, thank you but there's no time to admire anything, we have a game to win"

"You **are **that kind of girl" Law smirked

"What do you mean by that Trafalgar?" Kid barked

"Hey, no infighting, we're gonna have to work as a team"

"This is a one-time only thing?" Kid questioned

"I wouldn't have it any other way Eustass"

"Okay, then here's the plan, it's against the rules to cross the center line, but Luffy you can stretch over it without actually crossing it, so Kid, Law, you are going to be in the front, just try to distract him, don't worry about actually hitting him Luffy, you stand off to the side, I'll hand you a ball and stretch your arm behind him, and I'll reflect anything back at him so none of us get out, are we all clear on the plan?"

"You play dirty"

"I play to win"

"Like I said before" Law smirked

"And we're pirates anyway, we don't have to follow the rules" Luffy smiled

"What are you going on about Straw-Hat?"

"I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates" Luffy declared

"Keep dreaming kid" Kid replied

"Say what you want, but I'm gonna find the One Piece!"

"Okay, that's enough, we have to focus, ready, go!"

"Are you finally ready to play?" Coach Garp taunted

"Luffy!" I said passing him a ball "Now just sit tight a moment"

"Got it!"

"Reflect!"

"That power of yours is really starting to get on my nerves!"

"Now! Luffy"

"Gotcha!" Luffy said as he stretched his arm behind the coach and threw the ball.

"What?" Coach Garp was dumbfounded by the defeat

"WE WON!" Luffy shouted "That was like our first adventure as pirates!" Luffy shouted

"This alliance is over" Kid said

"Don't ever come to me asking for one" Law retorted

"Bye guys! Thanks for the help!" Luffy waved

"Pirates eh?" Kid said under his breath "now maybe that's not such a bad idea"

"What's all this nonsense you are spewing about pirates?"

"I told you Granddad, I'm gonna be the King of the Pirates!"

"And I told you to stop saying that you are going to be a great Marine!"

"No!" Luffy said sticking his tongue out

"You're just as defiant as your father, same lack of respect for authority too"

"Father? Since when have I had one of those?"

"Never mind it, you inherited all of Dragon's bad qualities didn't you, and you better not be thinking of any big ideas to challenge the World Government like him!"

"What!" The entire room echoed

"L-Luffy…" Robin stuttered

"Your father…" Usopp stammered

"Is the revolutionary…" I choked

"DRAGON?" The entire room erupted

"I guess so…By the way, who is he?"

"Luffy, your father, Dragon, is the leader of the revolutionary army, and organization that has trying to overthrow the World Government." Robin explained

"I see where he gets his farfetched ideas from" Sanji said

"So he's like a pirate?"

"No, he's a revolutionary, their goals only concern over throwing the World Government, they have no interest in treasure, or in finding the One Piece, but the Great Pirate Era has sure worked to their advantage, with all the pirates running amok the World Government had a lot on their hands to deal with, which makes is a lot easier for the Revolutionary Army to carry out their plan" I tried to explain

"Oh, I get it…so he's kinda like a pirate?"

"Yes Luffy, yes he is" I capitulated

We all left the gym and went down to change out of our uniforms

"Virginia" Robin stopped me "what the Revolutionary Arms plans to do seems to be what you hope to accomplish, why wouldn't you just join with them?"

"Once the truth is known there will be no need to overthrow the government, it will collapse upon itself, why raise the body count any higher than it needs to be? I only have interest in taking one mans' head"

"And being a pirate is so much more fun!" Luffy sang

"That too, I think it may be quite interesting to take part in the trend of the era"

* * *

**A/N **Please excuse my poor Spanish skills I'm doing it all from memory. I just had to add more Garp, it was just too tempting, and hmm; alliances, hmm, foreshadowing maybe, maybe?

I don't own One Piece


	10. Chapter 10: Teacher's Pet

I took off down the tunnel before the bell rang; there really wasn't any use in waiting around.

"Getting out early on dodge ball day" Law said from behind me "that's a first"

I shot him a quick, devious smile that reminded him "I told you, I play to win"

"So…" He began "You're actually involving yourself in the Great Pirate Era?" he asked casually

"Yeah, what's it to you?"

"Just wondering why you'd want to get involved in such a risky trade"

"I have my reasons" I growled

"I hope they're pretty damn good"

"Listen, I told you I have my own goals and reasons for doing this, nothing you say is ever going to matter to me"

"Now, now, no need to be short, I'm just surprised is all, you don't seem like someone who'd be interested in finding the One Piece"

"My dealings are with the World Government, the treasure doesn't concern me in the least, but I'd gladly help Luffy in his search, but I have something I have to make right" I scowled as I felt sharp tears well up in the corners of my eyes.

"Hey, don't cry" He said sounding legitimately concerned "I'm sorry, was it something I…"

"No, it's not your fault, just, never mind it" I said trying to regain my composure.

"Please, don't cry, I can't take it when girls cry" he said as he put his arms around me and pulled me close to him "everything's gonna be alright" he said softly before letting go.

"Law…" I thought "Maybe I was wrong about you" I wondered.

We silently continued to our lockers and out of the school. Kid was waiting for me at the front entrance

"Good luck" Law said under his breath

"Since when did you get all bubby-buddy with Trafalgar?" Kid asked

"We were just talking" I said innocently as Kid glared at Law

"Shall we?" He asked as he opened the door for me

"Alright, we're walking; I hope you're okay with that"

"That's fine, do you want me to carry you bag he asked gallantly

"Uh, no, It's fine, can carry it" I said "geez, what's gotten into him" I wondered, shocked by his sudden change in behavior.

He walked closely beside me, we were almost completely silent the whole walk home "t-turn here" I stuttered as I directed him down the next street. It seemed like his 'nice guy' act was making me even more agitated than his usual behavior. As we continued walking his hand lightly brushed up against mine, I could feel the heat spread across my cheeks and my face turned as red and Kids hair as I worried about what may happen next. "Here, this is my place" I muttered and pointed to the small brick house.

I opened the door and let Kid in and I followed behind him. As soon as I shut the door behind us I heard Beverly coming down the stairs "Virginia, is that you?" She snapped.

I quickly grabbed Kid's hand just as Beverly walked into the kitchen.

"What the fuck is this?" She shouted

"This is Kid" I said smugly and topped it off with a devious smirk as I gazed lovingly into Kid's eyes.

"That's just like you to spend only two days in a school and already be sleeping with someone" She said disappointedly

"We're going down to my room to study, so leave us alone" I grinned and wrapped my arm around Kid's back and led him down the stairs. He was so much bigger than me that it was difficult to walk in such an awkward position, but for the sake of pissing Beverly off, it was worth it.

When we had walked down a few steps I let go of him and locked the door behind un to ensure Beverly wouldn't be coming down.

"Sorry about that" I said "It was just to perfect" I giggled

"Oh, uh, yeah, it's okay" He grumbled looking at the ground. His cheeks were glazed in a soft pink. "How cute" I thought.

"I should have warned you about Beverly"

"Beverly? You mean your mom?"

"Oh, God no, she's my, well she was my aunt, and to make a long story short my mother shipped me off to her, she's looked after me since then, and as you can see, we don't exactly get along"

"I see" He said. "So, you agreed to help me with algebra"

"What? He's actually interested in studying, he's actually being serious?" I was completely shocked, but also relieved. "I guess that Law was wrong" I smiled to myself.

"So, you were showing some formula for this right?"

"Oh, yeah, you mean the Quadratic Formula?"

"Yeah, I think so, could you explain it to me again"

"Sure" I said still confused by his genuinely nice behavior. "You see, in the quadratic formula the _a_ term is equivalent to the _x__2 _ term, and the _b _is the _x _term and the _c _term is the term without an _x._"

"Okay, so how do I know which is which?"

"Typically the problems are set up in the correct order form the start so you shouldn't have to worry about that too much, but should it not be in order you just need to put the terms in descending order according to the number of _x's _in each term, as in to the _x__th_ power, for instance _x__3_ is higher than _x__2_and so on, and once you place it in that order then it just goes a-b-c from left to right"

"Oh, okay, I think I get it"

"Good, so do you remember the formula?" I asked covering up his notes

"Uh…no"

"That's alright, we'll work on it, and you've got a whole week yet to study."

"Okay, and you'll help me right?"

"Sure" I agreed "he's such a nice person" I thought "he just acts all tough and rude around other people, but, he's actually really sweet" I smiled as I analyzed him in my head.

After a couple hours of studying he suggested that he go home.

"I should probably go now; I've taken up enough of your time"

"No, it's alright, you don't have to leave, I'm not busy"

"That's alright; I don't want to be a burden"

"Do you at least have a ride home, it's getting dark"

"No, it's only a couple miles away, I'll walk"

"Are you sure, you can call your parents and just wait here"

"Nah, they're away on business this week"

"Are you staying with someone at least?"

"No, but it's alright, they've done this before, I've gotten used to it"

"That's terrible, if you need a place, you can stay here" I invited "What the fuck are you thinking! Shut up you idiot before you get yourself into more trouble, you don't even know this guy and you're inviting him to stay at your house, what in God's name do you think you're doing?" the less impulsive and half sane part of my mind scolded

"Really? Are you sure it's alright?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind, and I don't listen to Beverly anyway"

"Hmm, it's fine, thanks for the offer though" He smiled

"Okay, then I guess I'll see you tomorrow" I said as I walked him up the stairs and outside to see him off.

"Who would have thought; despite his intimidating appearance, he'd actually be such a teddy bear" I smiled at the thought "I guess it just goes to show you, appearances mean nothing of who a person truly is, I, above all people should know that" I thought as I heard Beverly's charming voice shrieking a me from her room on the second floor.

"Is your little boyfriend gone?" She mocked

"Who? Kid? Yeah, he just left"

"Don't you ever even think of pulling that little stunt again you fucking brat!" she scolded

"I was just helping him with algebra" I said innocently

"I don't want to hear any fucking excuses!" She yelled and stomped away.

"She's such a baby" I thought as I walked back down to my room.

* * *

**A/N **Oh, Kid is being so nice! What!? Hmm... ulterior motives or genuine kindness? 'Tis a mystery...

I don't own One Piece =[


	11. Chapter 11: Nightmares

"Virginia, it's just like you said, the World Government had been covering up all of its injustices for years, and this school, it's only meant to brainwash us into serving the government without objection, they might as well auction us off as slaves!"

"I've tried to tell everyone, but they won't believe me, they've already succumbed to the idiotic lessons they teach here"

"I see" She bit her lip hard and scowled "One day, I'm going to become the world's greatest scientist, and I'll find a way to bring them back"

"I know you will, one day, one day we'll expose the true nature of the World Government, you and I Roslind, we're a team, don't ever forget that, we have to stick by each other forever, we're all we've got here"

"I won't! I promise, no matter what happens!"

"Where are you going?"

"I'm off to do research; I found a file on the epidemic that devastated the South Blue about seven years ago?"

"Yeah, they said that it was a freak out break of the plague, what did you find?"

"It was purposely, the government had received word of an uprising which was headquarter in the South Blue, so they unleashed the parasite on the suspected islands and allowed the disease to take its toll"

"But that cost countless innocent civilians their lives! Biological warfare, those cowardly bastards, they'd rather kill hundreds of innocent civilians than go there and actually fight for themselves And then they turn around and claim that they're here to protect the wellbeing of the public."

"I know, and soon we will be able to expose the truth, with all the records they have here, it should not be a problem to find more than enough proof to convince everyone"

"Alright then, I'll leave you to your work" I said as we waved goodbye and headed in opposite directions down the confining halls of Ember Academy.

I woke up gasping for air, my face drenched by my own tears, as I desperately clutched my blanket for any sense of security. I had been having dreams about the last time I saw Roslind ever since I learned of her murder.

It was Friday, the last day of my first week at Paramount High, I silently reflected upon all that had happened, it was almost enough to distract me from my horrific nightmare. I thought upon all the wonderful new friendships I had formed in the short time I had been at Paramount High, it was almost enough to compensate for the hole in my chest. Though their kindness was able to heal any external damage there would forever be a missing part of my heart, one that could never be replaced.

I took a deep breath preparing to face the day, as I staggered out my bed and carried on with my typical, everyday routine. According to Roslind, the last day of August marked the last day of summer. I still remember the day she told me that, it's funny, it seemed that ever since she died I had been able to vividly remember just about everything she had ever said to me, every bit of inflection she'd use to stress a point, every single detail from all the times we had spent together. I tried to repress the memories, but I couldn't keep the thoughts out of my head, they haunted me every single second of my seemingly meaningless existence. I closed my eyes and exhaled deeply "Time to start the day" I thought as I dressed myself in high-waisted, light-colored denim shorts and a light, short, baggy, bright orange tee-shirt with bright blue flip-flops, I went easy on the make-up, it was the last day of summer, after all.

I commenced my typical walk to school in which I met up with Kid at the front door of the school.

"Morning!" I chimed as we walked into the school.

"So, after today you'll have officially finished your first week at Paramount High, how's it feel?"

"Like time moves by way too fast"

"That it does, so you gotta make the most of it" He smiled as we walked up the stairs.

"Are you still coming over to study tonight?"

"Are you sure your aunt won't try to kill me?'

"Please, don't call her my aunt, call her Beverly, or anything that doesn't insinuate that we were ever related"

"You really do not like that woman do you?"

"No I do not, thank-you-very-much"

"And yeah, we're still cool to study tonight, and if you don't want to have to deal with Beverly we can always go to my house, my parents aren't home yet"

I felt that same agitated feeling I had when he first asked me to study with him, I'm not a very trusting person, I couldn't help but blurt out "Just to study, right?"

"Of course"

"Alright, then see you later" I said as I continued up the stairs to my third floor locker.

"Are you still studying with Eustass?" Law asked as he leaned up against the door frame stressing the word studying.

"Yes, and I told you before, he's not a bad guy"

"Sure"

"He hasn't tried anything"

"Yet"

"What have you got against him?"

He shrugged "Not much he's a jerk"

I couldn't really refute that, Kid was a bit of a jerk to Law, I looked back a Law who was smirking triumphantly.

"What are you doing here anyway?"

"This is a school, at which I am a student"

"Eavesdropping much?"

He laughed under his breath but didn't respond and we set off in opposite directions down the hall.

I carried on the day normally. I had made it through Dr. Sakazuki's latest lecture on how pirates are to blame for all the horrible events which have transpired in the world thus far without ripping my hair out, so it was going pretty well. I walked to math class and we busied ourselves with the teat review packets, Kid and Law continued with their usual bickering over just about any subject that came to mind when Mr. Smoker called me up to his desk.

"Emerson" He called as he directed me up to his desk.

"Yes Mr. Smoker" I said with an annoyed look on my face.

"You've been tutoring Eustass haven't you?"

"Yes…" I said not liking where this was going

"I was wondering, if you'd be so kind as to offer educational assistance to some other students"

"Who did you have in mind?" I questioned as I began to dislike the direction of this conversation even more.

"Trafalgar" He called as he gestured for Law to join us at his desk.

"What?"

"Now, I'm sure you're well aware of your poor performance in this class"

"Yeah"

"I don't want you to fall behind even more, so I'd suggest finding someone to tutor you"

"No thanks" he smirked knowing exactly what Mr. Smoker was hinting at

"Let me rephrase it for you: You're failing my class, here's your new tutor"

"I didn't agree to…" I tried to object

"So it's settled then, when are you and Kid meeting next?"

"We were supposed to study at his house tonight"

"Fantastic Law's going to join you"

"I don't think…" I started but realizing there was no chance of me winning in this situation I acquiesced "alright" and we went back to our seats to tell Kid the good news

"No! No way in hell" Kid firmly protested

"I'm not thrilled about this either Eustass, but don't blame me for getting us into this mess"

Kid turned to me "Fine, if you're okay with it, then I'll deal with it, just this once" He said narrowing his eyes at Law and then glaring at Mr. Smoker.

Ms. Hina finished her series of lectures on figurative language and its uses and gave us the go ahead to begin working on our projects for the rest of the class period.

"I don't know how you can talk to him" Usopp said as I got up from our lab table to talk to Kid who seemed completely furious about something.

"I'm going to fucking kill that Trafalgar!" Kid growled as he slammed his fist against the table

"Hey, hey, hey, now, let's not use this kind of language in my class" Mr. Borsalino said as he walked passed Kid's lab table

"I just can't stand it anymore" He groaned

I assumed they must have had third period together and spent the entire time arguing about the unfortunate situation we we're put into. "It won't be that bad" I said as I lightly pat him on the back "you'll be fine" I said as the rest of his friends looked at us like we were aliens.

"How can you just go and talk to him?" Usopp asked again

I shrugged my shoulders "He's not a bad guy"

"Have you seen how scary he looks?"

"He's not gonna hurt you Usopp" I joked but Usopp was still panicking.

The rest of the day carried on for the most part normally, Luffy and Ace squabbled over who was going to be the King of the Pirates all throughout history and lunch, and in art we turned in our group portfolio of the pictures he had taken for the last three days.

In biology we continued our work with the human skeletal system. Mr. Mihawk wrapped up his lecture and dismissed us to build model skeletons.

"How can you tell the difference between the Tibia and the Fibula?" I asked in a joking manner "I don't want to put this poor guys leg on backwards"

"Oh, you can see the Tibia is much larger than the fibula, in both width and length and the point of connection is also slightly different" Law explained as he traced his finger down my leg. "You can feel here, the Tibia connects directly to the Patella" he continued to explain

"Uh, thanks" I stuttered as he finally realized what he had been doing and slowly stood back up

"Oh, sorry" he said looking down at the table and continuing to make the model skeleton in silence.

In gym we continued with our outdoor games unit, we had begun playing football which was more played like "Oh no, Coach Garp's throwing the ball again, everybody run" but he announced that we'd be picking teams on Monday and would get to play amongst ourselves.

After school ended I walked up to my locker with Law which had now become our usual routine.

"I can't believe we have to do this" Law complained

"Just try to make the best of it, Kid's no happier than you are"

"At least he's in his own home; I don't like to make it a habit of climbing into the gorilla pen"

"Hey, play nice" I scolded as we walked outside to wait for Kid.


	12. Chapter 12: Summer Storms and Sleepovers

"I wonder what's taking Kid so long." I said

"Who cares" Law sighed as he sat down on the front steps of the school and motioned me to join him.

I sat down beside him as the uncomfortable silence filled the air between us as Law solemnly gazed off into space, his stormy grey eyes were just as sad as always

"Okay, let's go" Kid groaned as he walked out of the school unhappy with the forced arrangements.

"Nice to see you too Eustass, what took so long, you've kept us waiting" Law jeered.

Kid rolled his eyes and extended his arm to help me up "thanks" I muttered

"What about me?" Law asked sarcastically

"What about you, Trafalgar?" Kid responded to the clearly rhetorical question as Law got up and we set off walking.

We crossed the street and turned down the corner in the opposite direction of my house. We continued down the sidewalk of the quaint suburbia; adorned with indistinguishable homes for the typical family.

Kid led us down another block and stopped in front of a white stone, two-story, Victorian-style house and walked up the front steps and unlocked the door.

"Make yourselves at home" He said as he placed his bag down on the ground and slumped into a red and white striped armchair.

"Kid, have your parents really left you alone here?"

"Yea, but I told you, they'll be back in a week or so, they've done this before; it's not unusual" he stated bluntly not bothering to look up

"So," I said changing the subject "do you guys want to take a break first, before we start studying?" I asked

"Whatever you say, you're the one in charge here" Kid grinned

"Fine, I should probably tell my parents I won't be home right away" Law said "and should you be doing the same?"

"No, Beverly could care less where I am, I can't do anything right anyway so it doesn't matter if I do something wrong, and besides, whether I tell her now or come home late she's still just going to threaten me, call me a slew of profanities, and complain about having to take care of me, though I don't think what she does classifies as care taking"

Law shrugged and left the room.

"So, why do your parents just up and leave you sometimes?" by now, my curiosity had definitely piqued

"I don't exactly know for sure what they do, they always tell me it's official business, but my dad runs the mechanic shop in town and my mother is a stock broker or something, sometimes I think they just want to get away from me for a while, it doesn't really matter, they always come back" He said forlornly "You don't have to worry"

I nodded, but I couldn't help but sympathize with him, I knew what it felt like to feel abandoned and unwanted.

Law reentered the room and sat down with me on the couch and kicked his feet up on the table in front of the couch.

"Would you be so kind as to take your feet off my coffee table?" Kid demanded

Law sighed as he moved his legs and adjusted himself into a reclined position.

"So, are you guys ready to get started?" I asked

"Yeah"

"Sure, whatever"

I began to pull out the worksheets and textbook when Law's phone started to ring.

"Who is it?" I asked a bit aggravated

"It's Shachi"

"Could you tell him you're busy?" I asked as he answered the call

"Hey, Shachi, yeah, I can't really talk right now…I'm here with Virginia and we're pretty busy" He said smiling deviously

"What! You're hanging out with her without me?" I could hear Shachi complaining on the other end of the call

"Sorry" He said in a dull voice. I tapped him on the shoulder trying to get his attention "Virginia!" He yelled "Stop touching me, I told you I wasn't ready yet" he mocked, clearly enjoying the fact that Shachi could only rely on the audible cues he was getting.

"Stop that!" I yelled as I pushed him off the couch and onto the ground.

"Getting aggressive are we?"

"Shut up!" I yelled

"Alright, I gotta go" He hung up the phone

"You pretentious little…" I stopped midsentence noticing he had burst out laughing.

"Law? Laughing? That's a sight you don't get to see everyday" I said as I felt myself begin to giggle as well, it was relieving to see him somewhat happy, yet his eyes were still laced in sadness, as if a constant reminder of some deep, underlying trauma.

I bent down help him up off the ground, the both of us still laughing. He got to his feet and rubbed the tears out of his eyes as he threw his arm around my shoulder and we fell back onto the couch. "You're pretty strong for you small size" he said

"Oh yeah?" I said as I calmed down

"Did I miss something?" Kid asked in response to the unorthodox display he had witnessed.

"Okay, so are you guys ready to start?" I asked "So, Kid we were working on factoring polynomials right, Law, have you already studied that?" I asked knowing the answer.

Instead of a response I got a one of his famous smirks that said "I wouldn't be here if I had"

"Alright then…" I said as I quickly tried to summarize what I had gone over with Kid for the past few days, I hated re-explaining things, but if I wanted to get any further I knew I had to.

I explained the material in the most concise manner possible. After Law had been caught up I proceeded to explain the rest of the concepts in the chapter and we proceeded to work on the review packets for the test the next Thursday.

Law was smart, that much was evident, he understood everything, he just didn't try; he just didn't seem to care enough to try. I narrowed my eyes at him wishing I could figure him out.

"Hey, look at the time" I said checking the time which we had clearly lost track of. "It's already nine-thirty, come on, Law, we ought to be going" I said "hmm déjà vu" I thought remembering the same interaction I had with Kid that Wednesday. By now it was pitched-black outside, yet the air was still muggy and warm, the common characteristics of the late summer nights on this island.

I got up ready to leave when Kid caught my arm "it's not safe for a young girl to be walking home alone at night" He said in a concerned voice.

Law smirked and snickered darkly "I can walk you home, it can't be too far out of my way" he suggested

"You wish, Trafalgar!" he protested

I waited in the doorway of the house as the two of them quarreled. Before they could resolve their pointless argument the sky opened up and the clouds burst open, pouring ice-cold rain that felt like needles as the fine droplets splashed against my skin.

"Well, I guess it's settled" Kid stated "you'll have to stay here and wait out the storm; you'll get sick if you go out now"

"How kind of you to be worried about us" Law taunted

"You can go if you wanna, Trafalgar; I could care less about you"

Law sighed and slumped back into the couch "well I guess we're waiting here"

"How many times to I have to tell you to get your fucking feet off of my coffee table?" Kid barked.

The three of us sat awkwardly in Kid's living room in complete and total silence.

"What a time for it to decide to rain" I grumbled

"I don't think any of us were too happy about it" Law concluded

"True, what say you, Kid?" I asked "Kid?"

"Is he already asleep?" Law jeered

"Be nice" I reprimanded

"But of course" He smirked

"Beverly's gonna be pissed at me" I said

"Who?"

"Oh, right, Beverly's my, uh caretaker if you will"

"Ah, my mom's probably not going to be too happy either"

I nodded "How long do you think it's gonna keep raining" I muttered starting get annoyed as I shoved the books into my bag.

He shrugged as he dissociated himself from the current situation "So, are you considering Eustass as viable mate? " he said observing Kid sleeping with his legs curled up into his chest and his head resting on the arm of the chair, sort of like a cat.

"What?" I asked in return, stunned by the sudden remark, and the lack of context in which stemmed from, and what a way to word it, it was so, scientific. "Uh, maybe, I don't know, uh…"

"Never mind"

"No, I haven't really been considering any of that, with anyone" I said candidly "curse those damn sorrowful eyes of his" I thought as the silence once again emanated the room.

"Ah" he said nodding slowly after a bit of a pause.

As we sat there silently I listened to the calming rhythm of the rain drumming on the awnings.

"What's wrong with you anyway?" I asked bluntly unable to speculate any longer

"Pardon?"

"I mean why aren't you trying, in school that is, you get this stuff, I can tell, I know you're not stupid, so why are you sabotaging yourself like this?" I found myself raising my voice

"Why do you keep assuming that there's something wrong with me?" He said crossly. "Maybe if you stopped trying to read me…" he started but turned away "I just…can't" he whispered as he lied down on the couch.

The next morning I awoke half on Kid's living room couch and half on the floor since Law had taken it upon himself to sprawl out over the whole couch. "That was not the best night sleep one could have asked for" I murmured as I stood up and stretched out my poor contorted spine. "They're still asleep, typical" I thought "I guess seven o'clock on a Saturday morning is just too early"

I waited about unenthusiastically for them to scrape themselves up; at this point I almost missed their incessant bickering, in fact, the only thing more unbearable than just waiting for them to wake up would be having to listen to one of Dr. Sakazuki's lectures.

"So, you two have finally decided to join the living" I said to the two startled and half asleep boys.

"Where am I, what time is it?" Law asked in a sleepy voice

"Trafalgar, what'er you doing here?" Kid asked still in a daze

Law raised his eyebrow now more aware of the situation.

"It's eight fifty-three in the morning, I'd like to go home now" I muttered as I headed for the door. Law picked up his bag and walked after me.

The storm had stopped sometime the night before, the air was fresh and crisp and the sun shone brightly and clear glass pools of water covered the street on the quiet morning.

"I should be able to get home before Beverly wakes up, as long it's before noon, anyway I shouldn't get in much trouble it was a Friday night, she should've been too drunk to even notice I was missing, or at least to remember it. " I thought to myself as I hurried down the sidewalk

"Hey, slow down" Law called as he tried to keep pace with me. "Why are you in such a hurry are you mad or something?" Law asked

"No, I just didn't really except to be sleeping over at Kid's house last night"

"Believe me, that's the last place I ever wanted to end up"

"Yeah, well, I guess I'll see you later, this is my turn" I said

"Okay" he mumble, as I turned away he grabbed my arm to stop me, his hands were just as cold as ever "And don't worry, I'll tell Shachi it was all a joke" he smirked

"Thanks" I said returning his smug look.

I came to my house and quietly opened the back door. "Good, Beverly's still asleep" I thought when I didn't hear any footsteps coming down the stairs. I quickly slipped down to the basement before Beverly could wake up, and locked to door behind me.

* * *

**A/N** I couldn't resist just making a pretty comical chapter between Kid, Virginia, and Law. It was just too tempting for me. =D. I don't own One Piece

And I'd like to draw your attention to one thing that may have been subtle: _stock broker, _do what you want with that info ;)


	13. Chapter 13: In the Support of my Friends

When I walked into school the next Monday the halls were covered in colorful flyers and posters "What's going on?" I wondered as I spotted Luffy and the gang.

"Don't worry Nojiko, you're got all our votes" Nami said to a blue haired girl.

"Hey guys, what's with all the flyers?" I asked

"Virginia!" Luffy shouted

"It's almost time for the school elections didn't you have those at your old school?"

"No"

"So this is the private school girl I've been hearing about" the blue haired girl stated

"Yeah, Nojiko, this is Virginia, she just transferred here from Ember last week, Virginia, this is my sister, Nojiko" Nami introduced

"The school elections are this Friday, Nojiko's running for school president, you'll vote for her, right?"

"Yeah, of course, but what are the school elections anyway?"

"The school holds elections every year so that the students can elect someone to represent the entire student body, the president gets put in charge of organizing all the school functions, I want the able to do that so I can make the school better" Nojiko explained

"Just say that, you'll win for sure" I smiled

"Yeah, and who couldn't vote for a pretty face like that?" Sanji chimed in

"We'll all help you Nojiko" I offered

"Thanks guys, you're awesome, now Nami, let's focus on you"

"What do you mean?"

"You said you wanted to try out for cheerleading this year, aren't the try outs today during lunch?"

"Oh, yeah, but I'll never make it?"

"That's crazy, Nami! You've got to try!" Luffy cried

"And sis', I've seen your routine, you're really good, they'd must be crazy not to let you join"

"Oh, but Nami, you're so beautiful you'd be the perfect cheerleader! In fact, I think all of you girls should try out!" Sanji squealed

"No" Robin responded coolly

"Not in a million years, Sanji" I responded

"But we'll all be there to support you, Nami" Luffy said

"Luffy" Nojiko remarked narrowing her eyes slightly "why don't you try out, you're certainly flexible enough, and I'm sure the cheer captain, Boa Hancock, would be elated if you asked to join, and then Nami would get in for sure." She suggested as she took Luffy's hat off and ruffled his hair.

"No way! I'm a boy, there's no way I wanna be stuck in one place with all those girls!" Luffy protested.

"Hmm, Luffy, a cheerleader, how adorable" I thought "But what's cuter, Chopper as the mascot" I smiled at the thought

"Okay, okay, I'll try out, but please, will you guys try out with me?" Nami pleaded Robin and I "For moral support" How could we possibly say no now? "Well, a million years sure does fly by" I thought

"Fine" I sighed

"Maybe it could be an interesting experience" Robin said.

I spent the rest of the morning dreading the try outs, and it showed.

"Are you alright? You seem off today" Kid inquired

"No, it's nothing, I'm fine" I said not even bothering to hide the anxiety in my face.

Lunch hour came, everyone who wanted to tryout gathered in the gym, and the various spectators congregated in the stands. "What have you gotten yourself into?" I asked myself in order to prepare.

It's not that I wasn't strong, or flexible, or rhythmic enough, and I surely was loud enough to be a cheerleader, I could have handled it all pretty well physically, not to say I would enjoy prancing around like an idiot for the entertainment of people who found they had nothing better to do than watch a bunch of simpletons chase after a flying projectile, the fact was cheerleaders were supposed to be, well, positive, and peppy, and I, to put it bluntly, was not.

I waited next to Robin and Nami along the wall of the gym waiting for my turn. Nami stood there anxiously waiting to be called.

"Don't worry Nami, you'll be great" Robin said trying to relax her

I spotted Luffy and the rest of the guys enter the gym "Hey Nami!" he screamed "Good luck!" he smiled widely and gave her a thumbs up.

Nami smiled and returned his thumbs up but still didn't respond.

"Luffy?" a fair-skinned black-haired girl who was sitting at the table in the center of the gym said as she began to blush as she looked in Luff's direction, then turned towards Nami and scowled

"That must be Hancock" I thought

A pink haired girl with dark eyes outlined in a thick layer of black eyeliner and red lipstick took the floor.

"Ah, cheerleaders" Sanji dazed

"Guys, are you sure that he's gonna be okay?" Chopper asked seeing how Sanji had completely lost touch with reality.

"Hee hee, guys, look, Nami's up next!" Luffy giggled

"Next!" Hancock called

"Oh my god! That is so not cute!" the pink haired girl grunted as she stomped off

"Go on Nami, it's your turn"

"Okay" she said as she took a deep breath and walked onto the floor

"You're gonna be fine" Robin and I offered as last minute encouragement

"Next!" Hancock yelled right after Nami took the floor.

"Now, now, Miss Hancock, you have to give everyone an opportunity to try out"

"But Coach Nyon!" Hancock whined

"Miss Hancock…" She scolded

"Fine, you may try out" she said as she slipped her hair behind her shoulders.

Nami stood up straight and took the floor again and preformed a flawless routine "Wow, she's really good" I said

"Yea, she is quite surprising" Robin agreed

"Are you finished? Good, then next!" Hancock yelled, and Nami, near tears began to walk away

"Hey!" I shouted "What's your problem?"

"Excuse me?"

"You know damn well that Nami was better than anyone else here!" I continued loudly

"Are you talking to me? Do you know who I am?"

"Just because you're too fucking jealous!" I yelled, my eyes were flickering with rage as I stared directly at her. The whole gym fell dead silent as Hancock stood there dumbfounded "If you're not going to be fair to everyone that we wouldn't want any fucking part of this anyway" I hissed "come on Nami, let's go"

"What are you…"

"That's perfect!" Coach Nyon interrupted

"What?" Hancock, Nami, and I said at the same time

"That's exactly what this squad needs, someone with fiery passion like that!"

"No, Coach Nyon you can't be saying…"

"My choice is final Miss Hancock, and if you don't like it, well that's too bad. So, what do you say Miss Emerson?"

I stood up straight and strong "If you'd like me to join, the you have to let my friends join as well, that is my only offer" I stated

"No, it's not worth it!" Hancock cried

"Alright, it's a deal" She said enthusiastically

"Sure, whatever" I flatly "The things I do for my friends" I thought

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you Virginia!" Nami squealed gleefully

"You three can stop by the activity office and pick up your uniforms when you get the chance, you'll have to wear them to school on days when there's a game"

"Why?" I asked

"To show your support of the school, of course"

"Oh great, school sprit something I was definitely lacing in, and those ridiculous uniforms" I shuddered at the thought of having to be seen in one of those.

We met up with the boys and Nojiko after the tryouts had finished.

"I'm confused" Luffy said "Did you guys do well or not?"

"You could say that" Robin smiled

"As long as you guys were able to help Nami" Nojiko, who hadn't seen the tryouts said "What ended up happening anyway I've already heard a few people talk about something that happened during the cheerleading tryouts?"

"Oh, you know, tryouts, blah, blah, blah, a little of this, a little of that, and now, all of us are cheerleaders"

"Really, all three of you?" Zoro raised his eyebrow and shot us a confused look

"Maybe if you hadn't slept through the whole thing you wouldn't be in the dark now!" Sanji snarled

"That's great you guys you know how hard it is to get on the cheerleading squad, whatever you did it must've really impressed them" Nojiko congratulated

"Ah! Robin-chan! Nami-san! Virginia-chan!" Sanji squealed

"Sanji! Calm down" Chopper ordered

"Ha ha, what a combination cheerleaders and pirates, you three sure beat to a differed drummer" Franky laughed.

"Yeah, I guess so" I smiled and we all took off for our next class.

"I can't believe you guys actually did it!" Sanji sang the whole way to study hall, and all throughout study hall.

Throughout the hallways the air was filled with the chatter of the student body.

"Did you hear about what happened at the try outs today?"

"Yeah, some girl totally told Hancock off"

"I wonder who it was?"

"I heard it was that new girl"

"Well, whoever she is, I give her a lot of credit, it takes guts to pull that one off"

"Hola Virginia, ¿como fue tu día?"

"Fue un poco ridículo"

"Sí, muchos ya me dijeron"

I nodded slowly and walked to my desk and slumped into my seat and rested my head on my desk, it had been a long day.

"I couldn't manage to keep a low profile, could I?" I thought, feeling that everyone was staring at me, "not only am I the new girl, but now I have to go and do something that gets people talking, maybe they don't know it's me, I am the new girl after all" I argued with myself

"Seems you've been running quite amok for only your second week here" Law said as he crouched down to get to my level.

"So you've heard"

"Everyone's heard, words gets around fast in this school"

"I loathe gossip" I mumbled

"Everyone hates to be on the other end of it…"

"I hate all gossip, it's nothing but hearsay"

"Then you ought to relax, no one has the full story then, if you truly believe what you say"

Whether that was supposed to further stress me out or console me, I couldn't tell.

"Senor Trafalgar, tu silla está allá" Mr. Donquixote said pointing to Law's desk on the other side of the room.

After school Law and I walked up to our lockers as usual "We're studying again after school right?"

"Yeah, I already reminded you two, and like I said, we're conducting it in the library, I will not have a repeat of Friday"

"I take it you weren't too fond of the slumber party at Eustass' house?"

I cocked my head to the side and frowned slightly giving him one of my what-do-you-think looks.

Kid was already waiting for us when we got down to the library.

"Way to keep a guy waiting" He said as revenge for Law's taunting on Friday, and the three of us walked into the library.

"How much do you guys actually need to work on? I figured that you could just check your answers against this, Mr. Smoker gave me the answer key" I said placing the document on the table.

After a short while they finished checking their answers and we left the library. I headed over to the activity office to pick up the cheerleading uniform, and a schedule of all the games, since I'd now need to be aware of them.

"May I help you?" asked a sweet looking woman with dark green hair asked

"I have to pick up a... cheerleading uniform" I chocked the awful words out

"Oh, of course" She smiled kindly as she handed me the uniform.

"Thank you" I said trying my best not to sound snarky. "oh and do you have a schedule of all the games" I smiled hoping not to sure the disdain for what I had gotten myself into.

"Oh, here you go" She said with a pleasant smile as she waved goodbye.

"Great, and I get to wear this thing on all these days" I thought as I walked out of the school.

* * *

Decided to tie it back to the High School theme, and what's a high school without its cheerleaders? Plus I needed a way to introduce Hancock, and let's be honest, she would be the Cheer Captain wouldn't she. The outfits are just supposed to mirror that of the attire on Amazon Lily, the rest of the cheerleaders other than Robin, Nami, and Virginia, are the rest of the future Kuja Pirates, made sense to me =D If you have anymore ideas of certain high school related activities I should involve them in or any other characters you'd like to see in the school (already have a plan for a few other certain supernovas) I'd love to hear them.

I don't own any of the One Piece characters or ideas, only my own ideas and creativity.


	14. Chapter 14: Uniforms and Hard Feelings

"Great, of course we have a game today, which means I have to wear that god awful uniform all day" I grumbled as I lethargically got up and got dressed in the light blue and scarlet things which left absolutely nothing up to the imagination. The blue skirt was by far shorter than any other skirt I had ever owned, or wished to for that matter, the top was sleeveless, and cut off in the middle of my ribcage, and to top it off, the dumbest little pom-pom scrunchie I'd ever seen. "it should be illegal to have to wear a pony tail this high" I thought looking that my reflection "What did I ever do to deserve this" I groaned "and this is the uniform the school selected for their students to wear? And they , namely Rendi, said I dressed like a slut before" I shook my head discontentedly as I trudged to school.

"Nami-san, Virginia-chan, Robin-chan! Those outfits are absolutely wonderful!" Sanji sang as he ran down the hall.

"Yeah, whatever" I growled while Nami and Robin only giggled.

"Now that you three are cheerleaders, might you let me see your panties?" Brook asked

"What does that have to do with anything?" Nami barked

"You guys are so funny" Nojiko laughed

"So, today are the elections, are you nervous, Nojiko?" Nami asked

"Maybe a little, but I have all of my friends backing me up" She smiled "I'll be just fine"

"That's good to hear"

"So are you guys gonna be coming to the annual student council event after the game tonight?"

"Of course we are, are you coming too Virginia?"

"She had better be, I'm the one who's going to cook tonight" Sanji smiled

"You can cook, Sanji?" I asked

"You bet I do"

"Yeah, Sanji's a great cook!" Luffy shouted

Why was I even remotely surprised, this was Sanji we were talking about here.

"Okay, I'll tag along" I agreed "maybe I should have brought some other clothes to change into" I thought feeling quite upset with myself.

The morning bell ran and we all headed to class.

I entered the eternal purgatory that is Dr. Sakazuki's world studies class, and was met with a plethora of awkward stares, I guess I didn't really have that certain persona the typical cheerleader is supposed to possess.

"Oh, you don't look happy" Ace said "What's the matter?"

"I look stupid" I groaned

"Quit complaining, it's not that bad" He said

I narrowed my eyes making it clear I still was not pleased by the situation.

"Emerson" Dr. Sakazuki grunted "hmm, you don't really seem like the cheerleading type, what are your motives?"

"My motive? What the hell kind of question is that?" was what I wanted to say "Just to help a friend sir" was what I settled on instead. He scowled, clearly not satisfied with that answer, but carried on with his bigoted lecture.

"What's with that get up?" Law asked as he stared me up and down

"Don't talk about it" I hissed

"Okay, fine" He said with a smirk as he slouched in his chair in his characteristic relaxed manner.

"Virginia?" Kid questioned "What happened to you?"

"Shut up, I don't want to talk about it" I complained "And quit staring at me! I know I look completely moronic" I whined as I slammed my elbows onto my desk and sunk my chin into my palms

"So re you really going to be a cheerleader now?" they asked

"Ugh, I said to leave it alone" I groaned "and stop fucking staring at me!"

"I just never thought you were into that kind of thing" Law taunted

I sighed as I rubbed my temples "you're really getting on my nerves"

"Hey, we're just joking around" Kid said as he put his hands on my shoulders "Don't worry, you look fine"

"I look ridiculous" I responded

"Class, I have all of your tests from yesterday graded" Mr. Smoker said "most of you have improved since the last quiz we took" He said as he handed our tests back to us

"I hope they did alright" I thought

"How'd you do?" Kid asked and I showed him the grade on my test "Hmm, typical he said"

"I can't help that I've already learned all of this" I argued "What about you guys?" I asked

"alright, I guess" Law said as Kid grabbed the paper from his hand

"A ninety-three? How did you pull that off?" Kid asked seemingly surprised

Law shrugged, not nearly as surprised himself "Like I said, you're smart, Law, you just need to apply yourself" I thought "how about you Kid?"

"Eighty-seven, not too bad, right?"

"No, that's great" I smiled

"Eustass, Trafalgar, Emerson may I see you three up front" Mr. Smoker called

"What does he want now?"

"You two seemed to have greatly improved" He said in a low voice as he narrowed his eyes and Kid and Law.

"Yes, like you said, I helped them study" I tried to clarify

"Mm-hmm, I just find it surprising that you were able to produce such a dramatic improvement from them in such little time"

"Are you insinuating that they cheated?" I said firmly

"I'm not, I'm just saying it's rather odd"

"I for one find it appalling that you think that they…"

"Let him think what he wants to, he's not going to do anything about it" Law said

"Maybe they just respond to my teaching style more than they do yours, sir" I said

"I'm sure they were responding to something" Mr. Smoker said under his breath as Law led me away from the desk to avoid the argument which would have so easily ensued.

In language arts Ms. Hina gave us a 'free period'

"Class, Hina is elated by all of the events in this school today, the student elections, the first football game, the student council event after school, that Hina has decided to give you the option to do whatever you would like to today!" She cheered

"So, you guys, what exactly is the student council event I've been hearing so much about?" I asked Zoro and Usopp

"Well, it's kind of like the inauguration for the new student body president" Usopp said

"It's held every year on the same day as the first football game and the day of the school elections" Zoro added

"And there's always food, and stuff, t's pretty much just a big get together, most people go just to hang out with their friends after the football games it's pretty casual"

"It also marks the start of the preparation for homecoming"

"Homecoming?" I questioned, I'd heard of it before, I've lived in this town my whole life, I'd heard people talk about it, I just never knew what it was, Ember never had one.

"You've never been to homecoming?" Usopp and Zoro laughed

"What?"

"Come on Zoro, cut her some slack" Usopp laughed

"Oh right, she's the private school girl"

"What?" I demanded

"Okay, okay, homecoming is, like, a big deal to the school" Usopp said "It's a school spirit week and a big football game and then a dance"

"Oh great, more school spirit I'm inevitably going to have to partake in" I thought "Is it mandatory?" I asked

"Well, no, you can choose to go or not, but you'll have to go to the football game"

"Great" I said sarcastically

"Come on, you'll have fun!" Usopp cried "You'll have to bring a date though, that's for sure" He continued

"A date? Why?"

"Because it's a dance, you don't want to be dancing by yourself, trust me, been there done that, it's not any fun"

"No thanks, dancing isn't really my forte"

"But how would it look if a cheerleader didn't go to homecoming?"

"How would they even know?"

"Because…" Usopp pouted "you just have to!"

"Hmm, no thanks"

"Don't just turn it down right now! Give yourself time to think, it's not until September 28th anyway"

"Why does so much preparation go into some dance?"

Zoro shrugged "makes the school look good, I guess"

In physics we had to go outside for a lab to calculate the velocity of various things, which ended up being just each of us running down the sidewalk since there was next to nothing going on in our sleepy town.

"Looking forward to the game tonight?" Robin asked somewhat sarcastically as we walked to history.

"Oh, you know it, I've just been waiting for this my whole life" I responded in an equally sarcastic voice

"At least we'll make Nami happy" She reminded me of the reason we were doing this in the first place.

"Since when was Virginia-chan a cheerleader?" I heard Shachi asking

"I don't know, but isn't today just wonderful?" Penguin cooed

"Indeed, indeed"

"Now I remember why I liked this school"

"What are you two going on about this time?" Law asked

"Come on, don't play dumb" Shachi and Penguin growled as they stared longingly at Robin and I, Law rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"So they are they forcing you to wear that all day" Ace asked lightheartedly

"Of course, and it's just for some dumb 'spirit' reason, like anyone who wasn't originally planning on going to the game would change their mind because we wear our uniforms at school" I said crossing my arms tightly

"They might" Ace said pointing to Shachi and Penguin

"Well, they're special exceptions" I remarked

Before class ended Mr. Newgate reminded us of the school elections. "Before you go, I'd like to prompt you all to take part in the student elections, the voting takes place next hour during your lunch"

"Ace?" Luffy asked "You're gonna vote for Nojiko, right?"

"Sure, anything for my little brother" He said wrapping his arm around Luffy's shoulder.

"Who would've thought that Dragon would've had two sons that turned out so…kind" I thought as we walked down to the cafeteria.

As we walked into the lunch room we saw the voting tables set up along the wall. We placed our ballots in the box and cast our votes for Nojiko.

"All we can do is wish her luck now" Robin said

"Hey! How can a bear be writing?" Luffy said, spotting Bepo

"A-a b-bear!" Usopp shivered

"I'm sorry!" Bepo cried as he bowed towards Luffy

"Bepo, you don't have to apologize" I said petting him behind his ears

"He can talk too! AWESOME!" Luffy squealed with stars in his eyes

"Virginia, how do you know this bear?" Robin asked

"He's a friend of Law's"

"Law?" Luffy stared off into space and furrowed his brow trying to put a face to the name

"The kid who sits behind us in history"

"Doesn't ring a bell" Luffy said

"Fur hat, spotted jeans, anything?"

"Nope, nothing"

"My future captain may not be the brightest knife in the drawer, but he's loyal, compassionate, and understanding, it was certain that what he lacks in IQ points he makes up for tenfold in his other qualities" I thought remembering how willing Luffy was to step in and help me "but I hope he knows we're in no shape to go challenging the World Government head on right now" the qualms I had always had about piracy were beginning to surface again.

"Wait" Usopp inquired "You're not talking about your creepy lab partner in Bio are you?"

"Well, that's not very nice, is it?" I scowled at him

"Are you kidding Virginia, have you seen the way he acts? There's something weird about him that you don't want to get involved with" Usopp continued. I heard footsteps walking away at a slow and calm pace.

"Why would you even say that? You don't know him do you?" I snapped "Law" I thought immediately sympathizing with him as I turned and ran after him.

"Virginia? Where are you going?" Usopp called

The weird kid, the freak, the loner, I had those terms pretty much branded on my forehead at Ember, and it hurt, no matter how many times you'd try to convince yourself that you didn't care, it always stung, like if someone were to have ripped out your heart every time. I couldn't help but identify with him. I didn't know what happened to Law or why people even felt this way about him, but one this was certain, there was more to his story that he was letting up.

* * *

**A/N **Just skipped ahead to Friday, no real use in waiting right? especially since that is what I had the most ideas for. Cheerleading uniforms based off attire on Amazon Lily. Sorry to leave with what might be the worst cliff-hanger ever, please don't kill me =P.


	15. Chapter 15: Only of the Heart

Without thinking I turned away from Usopp and ran after Law. "Virginia, where are you going?" Usopp called to me from down the hall.

Usopp's harsh words rang like bullets in my ears, it took me back to my days at Ember, all the horrible things they would say to me, it hurt, every last word of it, it was easy to brush off a few, but over time it adds up, and there's only so much on person can take. Law never wanted to show any emotion whatsoever, and that was fairly evident to me, he didn't want to show the pain, weakness or hurt, it was understandable. I couldn't help but feel for him.

"Law!" I cried trying to get his attention as I caught up with him

"What do you want?" He whispered coldly, but kept walking away.

"Law, please!" I pled as I grabbed his arm "I just want to talk with you"

"Why should you even care?" He snapped as he sat down on the bench near the stairwell and covered his face with his hands.

"Listen" I said as I sat down next to him "I know what Usopp said was wrong, and it hurt…"

"I don't need your fucking sympathy, just leave me alone"

"I know how it feels, that's what I went through every day at Ember" I said as I put my arm around his shoulders "it's awful, and no one deserves to be treated that way, and it's always worse when there's no one there to help you get through it" I said holding back my tears

He didn't offer anything in response but instead he rested his head lightly on my shoulder, which I felts was enough of a cue to say that it was making him feel better, even just a little bit.

"You know" I smiled shyly "I only had one friend at my old school, everyone else hated me, the students, the teachers, everyone, it seemed that she was the only thing that made me feel okay, you can imagine how I felt when she…" I paused for a brief moment and swallowed the knot in my throat and sighed deeply, "When she died" I revealed mournfully as a single tear caressed my cheek.

Law lifted his head off of my shoulder and looked straight at me "I'm so sorry" he whispered, his despondent eyes were lined with genuine compassion "I know exactly how you feel, and it's the worst feeling in the world" he said as he stood up and turned towards the wall and covered his eyes with his arm.

"Law, what's wrong?" I asked as I stood beside him "I know there has to be more to it that just the callous words of your peers" I explained as I placed my hands on his shoulders.

"I'm sorry" He said through quiet sobs "I'm just so sorry"

He turned around and wrapped his arms around my waist. I felt a shiver course through my spine and goose bumps cross over my back; I couldn't tell if it was just because his hands were so cold against my bare skin.

I tightly grasped the fabric of his shirt and pulled him closer to me. I felt my tears stream down my cheeks and settle onto Law's shoulder, which was only comforted by the feeling of his tears striking against mine.

In that moment I felt I knew everything yet nothing about Law all at the same time. It was a peculiar sensation, but nonetheless I wouldn't have traded it for the entire world.

The door to the room we had been standing next to creaked open and angry footsteps echoed against the floor.

"What are you two still doing out here, did you not just hear the bell ring? And keep your hands to yourselves or I will be forced to write the two of you up for inappropriate physical contact on school grounds." Dr. Sakazuki threatened

Law immediately let go of me and stepped back.

"Now, get to class" He said gruffly before reentering the room and slamming the door behind him.

Law kept his eyes at the floor as he gently brushed away the remaining tears off of his face. Though his face was obscured by his hat I could see a soft pink color had tinted his cheeks. He slowly looked up and cleared his throat before he spoke "We should probably go to class" He said.

"Alright" I agreed and we walked up to the study hall room

"Emerson, Trafalgar" Sir Crocodile grunted "You're late" we both stood there unable to come up with an excuse "I'll be seeing the two of you in detention this Saturday"

"Hey, you can't do that!" Penguin shouted

"Yeah, she's new, she doesn't know where everything is yet, and Law was just showing her!" Shachi jumped in with rather transparent lie.

"Is that so?" Sir Crocodile said "In that case I will be seeing all four of you in detention this Saturday" He scrawled our names down on a pad of paper with a note for him to inform the office.

Law and I walked up to Spanish class in our usual manner, silence. Mr. Donquixote wasn't there to greet us at the door, instead he was slouched over at his desk looking quite unpleasant.

"Class" He started "Today our class is being interrupted by the student council election to results, so we'll have to hear to the Auditorium shortly"

"So he does speak English" I thought myself, seeing as he had spoken nothing but Spanish to me since I had gotten here.

Mr. Sengoku's voice came over the loud speaker "Please excuse this interruption, students and staff, you are now to report to the Grand Auditorium for the announcement of your new student elected officials, thank you for your cooperation and enjoy the assembly"

Law and I walked down together "So, you want Nojiko to be elected president, right?" Law asked

"Yes" I replied

"I voted for her too, she seemed rather level headed and compassionate, and her platform was the most well thought out I've ever seen in these school elections"

"I just hope other people thought that way too"

"If it's any consolation, I know for a fact Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo voted for her as well"

"Well then, she's got at least fifteen votes, sixteen if she can vote for herself"

As we continued down the stairs we spotted Kid.

"Virginia" He said as he walked up to us "Why'd ya bring that with you?" he sneered looking at Law

"Well Eustass, you see…" He started as I placed my arm in front of him telling his to stop.

"What was that Trafalgar?"

"Since you asked…"

"So, Kid, who did you vote for in the election" I said quickly changing the subject to avoid a fight

"Oh, uh, the chick"

"Nojiko?"

"Yeah, I think so"

"Good, that means at least sixteen votes for her"

"She a friend of yours?" Kid asked as he cut in between Law and me.

"Yeah, she's Nami's sister"

"Excuse me Eustass, but I do believe I was standing there" Law jeered

"Maybe you were" He responded in an equally sarcastic manner

"That's enough you two" I mediated as they continued to glare at each other.

When we walked into the auditorium I saw Luffy and the others waiting by the door under the stage.

"Virginia, see guys, I told you if we waited at our headquarters we'd all eventually meet up!" He laughed

"Headquarters?"

"Oh, nothing" I said giving Luffy a I-told-you-to-keep-quiet-about-it look

"Are you still mad, Virginia?" Chopper asked sweetly

"No, why would I be mad?"

"Because Usopp…"

"You need not worry about it Chopper" I said to the poor sad looking reindeer, he obviously didn't like it when his friends fought.

"So, should we sit down?" Zoro asked

"Yeah, I just want to wish Nojiko good luck" Nami said as she walked over to the stage

"Come on guys!" Luffy declared

"You two can sit with us you know" I said to Law and Kid

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's…"

"Now, now, Virginia, let's think about this" Usopp started

"I already did, and I think you need to stop judging people before you even know them!" I hissed and walked to the seats with the others.

I sat next to Nami and Chopper, Kid and Law sat just behind us, as we watched the rest of the student body file in.

Mr. Sengoku took the stage "Thank you ladies and gentlemen, students and staff, I'd like to thank you for your participation in this year's student council election, we had a lot of great candidates running this year and we know that whoever is elected will demonstrate exemplary leadership skills throughout the rest of the year. Furthermore, I'd like to once again thank all of our students who participated in the election for their time and dedication to this school, let's give them a round of applause" He said as the auditorium applauded all of the those who ran in the elections.

"First, we have our new secretary, Yosaku!'

"Hey! Brother Johnny! I won!" the boy wearing a green coat and yellow plaid shorts screamed as he walked up on stage.

"Oh no, not him" Zoro moaned

"Hey! Brother Zoro! Hey! Is that you, it's been awhile hasn't it, we need to hang out more" he casually conversed from the stage

"Yes, thank you Yosaku" Mr. Sengoku said as he hurried the boy off the stage "next is this year's treasurer: Paulie" He declared as a boy with slicked back blond hair took the stage.

"Thank you everyone, as the new school treasurer I am going to ensure that we are able to hold successful events to raise money for our school."

"And your new vice president is Cavendish!" Mr. Sengoku announced as a thin, blond haired boy with big bright blue eyes walked up on the stage.

"Thank you to everyone who voted for me" he smiled charmingly at the audience but said nothing more.

"And last, but most certainly not least, your new student body president is Miss Nojiko!"

"Yes!"

"Way to go Nojiko!"

"Congratulations!"

We cheered as Nojiko took the stage. "First of all, I'd just like to thank everyone, regardless of whether you voted for me or not. And as your new president I'd like to dedicate my time to bettering the school, I hope that we can introduce more school sponsored activities that involve us more in the community and prepare us for the future." Nojiko stated.

After the assembly had finished we met up with Nojiko to congratulate her in person.

"Good job Nojiko!" Luffy said

"Yeah, congrats!" Chopper cooed

"We're all so happy for you" Robin smiled

"SUPER great job!" Franky laughed

"Bell-mére is going to be so proud of you" Nami said

"Thanks you guys, I couldn't have done it without all of your help" She said gratefully "And I guess I'll be seeing you all tonight, good luck at your game you guys" she smiled to Robin, Nami and I as she left to go work on the perpetrations for tonight's event.

"Are you guys gonna be there?" I asked Kid and Law.

"Not sure" Law shrugged "Now that I have to wake up early on my Saturday morning"

"Sorry, it's not like I'm happy about that either"

"No, it wasn't your fault, but I'm sure if you're going to be there Shachi and Penguin are going to make me go tonight anyway, they're already dragging me to the football game, which I may add I have successfully avoided going to until you came here"

"Sorry" I teased

"Maybe, why, are you going?"

"Yeah"

"Okay, we'll come"

"We?"

"My friends and I, Killer, Heat, Wire, and I"

"Okay then, I'll see you guys later" I smiled as Nami, Robin and I walked out to the football field for practice

"And what did you mean by having to wake up early on your Saturday morning that triggered her apology?" Kid snarled as he backed Law up against the stage. "and why does it sounds as if you're involving her in whatever it is you are doing?"

"Eustass, there's no need to be upset" He smirked "It's only one Saturday morning"

"What the fuck are you taking about Trafalgar?" He demanded as he put his hand around Law's neck

"Now, now, calm down" Law said calmly "it's only one Saturday detention"

"Detention? What did you do to get her in trouble?" Kid continued to interrogate

"We…" Law paused, not wanting to say what really had happened "we just lost track of time and showed up late to study hall" he said less confidently.

Kid released his grasp from Law's throat but continued to glare at him as he walked away.

* * *

**A/N **Sakazuki! How could you do that, can't you see they were having a moment?

*Sakazuki* I don't care, these rotten children shouldn't have the opportunity

*me* Don't make me fire you! I may have no control over what you do but in the story but I can still write you out!

*Sakazuki* Ha! don't make me laugh little girl, I'm the Fleet Admiral, you can't tell me what to do, I'll send you to Impel Down with all of the other pirate scum of this forsaken era.

*me* I need to rethink the people I hire for these kind of stories...

Had too much fun with the other elected student officials, Paulie the treasurer, that couldn't possibly backfire... And Cavendish as the VP, well, this may be trouble for Luffy and Law and Kid, seeing as he is not very fond of them ;)

Still don't own One Piece.


	16. Chapter 16: Game Day

Robin, Nami and I walked out to the football filed for a pre-game run through.

"Okay ladies; let's have a quick run through before the game starts. We have to make sure that we're perfect tonight; it's the first game of the season and we have to get everyone excited" Coach Nyon explained

"Okay coach" Hancock said enthusiastically

"Now, Virginia, are you sure that you're okay with going up on top?"

"But coach, I've always been on the top!" Hancock protested

"She's much smaller than you miss Hancock, it will make the routine much easier"

"I will if you promise that you'll catch me" I bargained

"Of course dear, it'd be a disgrace if we were to let a fellow cheerleader fall" Coach Nyon reassured

"Okay then" I agreed

"Alright, now that everything's been settled, shall we begin?"

We ran through our routine, which was surprisingly free of mistakes. "It's all for your friend, Virginia, all for your friend" I reassured myself as I climbed to the top and was dropped into the arms of the rest of the girls "Please don't let me fall, please don't let me fall" I prayed.

"Okay ladies, that was excellent, completely outstanding, be sure to do exactly that during that game you will all be just fine, now, go get some rest and get ready for the game, it should be starting in just about a half an hour" Coach Nyon praised.

The light of the late summer sun faded to the darkened glow of the night, illuminated by the gleam of the incandescent moon. The lights which surrounded the field flickered on and engulfed the field in a bright fluorescent glow as people began to gather in the stands.

We spotted Luffy and the others as they filed into the third row of the bleachers. "Virginia! Nami! Robin!" Luffy shouted as he waved hysterically to us.

"Good luck out there you guys" Chopper smiled

"Have fun" Zoro sneered directing the remark at Robin and I.

"Hi guys!" Nami waved happily

"Luffy, have you come to watch me?" Hancock blushed as she turned her face away and placed her hands on her cheeks.

"There are more people here than I thought there's be" I observed

"Yes, these games are quite a big deal to the school, most of the students tend to enjoy them as well" Robin explained "Didn't you have a football team at your old school?"

"No, they didn't offer any sports, or clubs, or any sort of extracurricular activity that could possibly distract us from our studies"

"Hmm, well, as you can see they draw quite a crowd"

"I can see that" I nodded as I scanned over the audience. I spotted Kid sitting with his friends. They were sitting in the middle of the stands in the second row. "Oh, that's so sweet of him to come out here just for me" I thought as I waved at him from the field. I most have gotten his attention because he waved back at me which resulted in snide comments from his friends, which in turn, earned them a rather unpleasant look from their fiery haired friend "Hey come on man, we were just kidding" Killer said as he nudged Kid's side "I told you to stop fucking with me, Killer, you know I hate being laughed at"

I continued to skim over the various unfamiliar faces in the audience when I spotted a very recognizable figure. "So, Law, you actually showed up" I smiled. He was sitting aloofly in the top row all the way off to the far left side, reclining on Bepo as if her were a cushion. Shachi and Penguin stood up defiantly in protest of Law's choice of seating.

"Come on man!" Shachi complained "Can't we move down, we wanna see the cheerleaders!"

"Yeah, and we know you wanna see Virginia, don't you" Penguin taunted

"Stop insinuating things, Penguin" Law denied

"Come on going to watch her I the least you could do, you know, after she did all that sticking up for you"

"I came here didn't I?"

"But, Law, come on, you know you wanna…"

"Quit complaining, we're staying here" Law said in a firm, yet clam voice

"Aww but…" Law glared and Shachi and Penguin and the quieted down.

The rest of the spectators found their seats and the game began.

"We have a good team this year" Coach Nyon muttered "We'll have to do our best to make them look even better"

"Will do coach!" A red haired girl laughed.

"Good, now just sit back, relax, and enjoy the game for now, we'll be starting soon"

I knew next to nothing about football so, needless to say I had no idea what was going on, nor did I care, I assumed our team was doing well since the crowd seemed to be fairly happy, but it was only an assumption.

"Okay, ladies, it's time to start!" Coach Nyon declared as we filed onto the field to begin our superfluous cheer routine.

"Law, look, there's Virginia" Shachi continued to tease "Doesn't she look just absolutely astounding"

Law shrugged his shoulders and shook of the remark, but kept his eyes fixated on the field.

"Nami-san! Viginia-chan! Robin-chan!" Sanji screamed

"Sanji! Don't hurt yourself!" Chopper warned "I didn't bring any equipment today"

"Ha ha ha, Hey! You guys! Up here!" Luffy called

"Just ignore them and focus" Nami said

"Which one is she again?" Heat asked

"The brunette" Killer responded

"Well, I see what's caught our friend's eye" He smirked

"You even think about trying anything and I'll fucking slaughter you" Kid growled in an all too serious voice.

"Please don't drop me" I prayed once again until I was secured in the arms of the other cheerleaders and set on the ground "Thank god" I thought.

The game progressed further; evidently we were doing well, judging by the raising decibel level coming from the crowd and the constant reminder from Coach Nyon that we had to make the team look even better than they were doing themselves.

When the game finally ended Coach Nyon congratulated us on our hard work. Obviously, our team had won, that much I could pick up on.

"Thank you all for coming out to support our team on our first game and first victory of the season, we'd like to congratulate everyone for their wonderful effort in this competition, and we hope to see you all back here next week" Mr. Sengoku announced before the fans were able to exit. "And students of Paramount High, I'd like to remind you that our annual student council event will commence at the top of the hour, and you are all encouraged to go, thank you and have a safe trip home and a great weekend"

"Who would have thought that cheerleading was so much work" Nami said as she stretched her arm over her head.

"You guys did such a good job!" Chopper cried as he ran down the stairs to us

"Thank you, Chopper" Robin smiled

"SUPER great job!" Franky reiterated

"Hmm, something's missing" I pondered "Where's Sanji?"

"He had to go and prepare for the event; he is the one cooking for everyone"

"Oh, right, I remember him saying that"

"Come on, we should get there early if we want to see Nojiko before she has to give her speech" Usopp reminded

"What speech?"

"I told you, it's like an inauguration for the school president, she has to address the school, and talk about the new school year and such; it's just political stuff" He explained.

We walked off the field and back to the main grounds of the school to find Nojiko.

"And you're sure you have your speech prepared?"

"Yes, it's right here on my notecards"

"Okay, and are you ready to speak in front of everyone?"

"Yes, Mr. Genzo, please stop worrying!"

"Alright, I can't help it, I'm so proud of you"

"Hey! Nojiko!" Luffy shouted disrupting her conversation

"Hey guys, what are you doing here so early, it's not supposed to start for another fifteen minutes"

"We know" Nami said "But we came here to wish you good luck"

"I have all the luck I could ever possibly need" she smiled

"Nami" The man who had been talking to Nojiko started "I heard that you became a cheerleader this year, that's good to hear"

"Thanks Mr. Genzo" She smiled

"It's so good to see you two doing so well, and make sure you tell Bell-Mére I said hi"

"Will do Mr. Genzo" the girls agreed

"Who was that?" I asked

"That's Mr. Genzo, he's an old family friend of ours, and the guidance counselor at this school" Nami explained

"So" Nojiko interrupted "I heard that you guys did pretty well today"

"What do you mean?" Nami asked

"Well, I heard we won the game tonight, so I'd assume you guys must've done pretty well"

"Oh, right" Nami giggled "thanks"

"Well" Luffy declared "We're off to find Sanji and get some free meat!"

"Okay, have fun"

"Come on, let's go!"

"Luffy!"

"SANJI! FOOD!" Luffy screamed as he ran directly to Sanji "Sanji, food, food, food, food!"

"You're gonna have to wait you moron, it hasn't even started yet"

"Oh, but I'm hungry now" Luffy pouted

"Come on Luffy, it's only ten minutes" I reassured him

"Oh, Nami-san, Virginia-chan, Robin-chan, you look absolutely striking tonight, may I offer you ladies anything to eat?"

"Hey!" Luffy pretested adamantly

"Oh, no thanks Sanji, we can wait"

"No, I insist" He sang

"Sanji, it's not fair, I'm hungry too"

"Well you're just gonna have to wait!" He barked as he served Nami, Robin and I

"Wow, Sanji, this is delicious" I said surprised as how good it actually was. When Luffy said he could cook I didn't doubt the ability but I never thought that his talent would so far exceed my expectation.

"You really think so!" Sanji cooed "Hey! Stop eating those! They aren't for you, you idiot!" Sanji yelled noticing that Luffy had taken it upon himself to 'sample' some of the ingredients "Nami would be very upset to see you wasting her tangerines like that!"

"I'm not wasting them, I'm eating them!"

"They're so funny"

"Yes, you'll get used to them after a while, Virginia, and all their usual antics" Robin said

"Hey, guys I think Nojiko's speech is about to start" Usopp called

"Oh, Nojiko! I have something special for her too!" Sanji hummed as he carried another bowl of orange sorbet over to the stage where Nojiko would give her speech.

"Thank you, everyone, as I said before, I'd like dedicate myself to bettering the school. I want to make it a better place for everyone, not just the teachers, not just the students, but everyone so that we can make coming here a more pleasant experience. I want to take more time to organize events which involve the community, not just the school" she continued.

After she finished we all headed back to enjoy the rest of the night.

"Here Nojiko, this is for you" Sanji swooned

"Oh thank you Sanji" She smiled

"Where are you going, Virginia?" Luffy asked

"Oh, I was just going to take a walk" I smiled "See you guys later"

* * *

**A/N **To whomever it may concern, yes Bell-Mére is alive, however, Nami does have a past with Arlong makes for an interesting sub-plot that will come into play later.

Sorry this chapter is rather short and not very eventful, it was originally paired with what will be chapter 17, however it got way too long and I didn't want to publish a chapter that was over 5K words unless it is absolutely necessary, like maybe when I get into Law's past, or a couple other things I have planned to make the story all the more interesting, but I don't want to make it a habit of writing extremely long chapters, so I just cut it in half and I will finish work on chapter 17 and have that one up tomorrow.


	17. Chapter 17: All That it Takes

I meandered around the grounds of the school for a while without anything to do, or any place to go. My mind was wandering just as aimlessly as I was "What are you hiding, Law" was all I could think about. I kept reliving what had happened earlier that day, Law still hadn't given me much information, he was great at talking around the subject, but hiding it as a whole, not so much. I still couldn't fully wrap my head around his situation no matter how hard I thought, there just wasn't a good enough conclusion I could draw with what little tidbits of facts he'd given me. Then, a familiar voice pulled me out of my head.

"I heard Trafalgar got you into trouble" The gruff voice stated

"Huh?" I echoed out of pure surprise

"Trafalgar told me that the two of you have detention tomorrow, what in the hell did that bastard do?"

"Oh, Kid, it's you." I felt almost relieved "It's not a big deal"

"Should I be worried about what he's doing to you?"

"No, you don't have to be worried, we were just late to class, that's all"

"Why? What was he doing?" He demanded as he tightly clenched his fists.

"Kid, calm down" I pleaded as I placed my hands on his shoulders "Please, it's not Law's fault, nothing happened, you don't have to be mad!"

"I'm sorry" He sighed "I just don't want to see him getting you into trouble, he's not a good kid anymore" he said as he slowly walked around the room with his hands in his pockets until finding a place to sit on the ledge of the window.

"What do you mean 'anymore'?"

"Huh? Oh when we first started here Law was the brain, top of the class in everything, excellence across the board, a real teachers dream, a nice guy too, he was friendly, and helpful, and always forthcoming with everyone, but then, one day, he just wasn't the same, he was really down, standoffish. He became increasingly cold and distant as time wore on, he pretty much gave up on everyone and everything; he went from being a straight A student to flunking just about every one of his classes in a matter of weeks."

"What happened to him?" I asked, I really had wanted Law to tell me himself rather than hearing it from someone else, but my curiosity was eating away at me by this time, so a secondary source wouldn't be the worst possible scenario.

"No one knows, every time someone would ask him, he refused to say anything, like I said, he just gave up"

"That's terrible, I wonder what could be causing him so much pain" I whimpered

"Hmm" he shrugged his shoulders "to be fair I don't know his situation, but, almost everyone here's been through some kind of hell and back, this is the town of hard luck kids. It seems we've all grown thicker skins and have learned to take the hard knocks like a pat on the back, no one's immune to the kind of shit this fucked up world will put you through. I think you can relate" he said putting his arm around me "I can tell you've been through your fair share of hardships, even worse that what you've owned up to, yet you still carry on every day, with your head held high and a smile on your face. And on top of that you're always concerned about others far more that yourself, it seems you want to help everyone, even if it means hurting yourself" he frowned. I didn't say anything back; silence was the best possible response I could have thought of.

"He thinks far too highly of me" I thought "just because I don't treat people like human garbage doesn't make me the next Mother Teresa, I'm all too far from the pedestal he's put me on"

Strange, it seems the kid that so many were afraid of was the kid who was here to make me feel better. Maybe the world just doesn't give anyone a chance anymore.

I lost count of how many minutes we just sat there in silence and of how many unusual stares we got from the common passerby who couldn't seem understand why an innocent looking cheerleader would willing rest herself in the arms of Eustass Kid.

"It seems you've been through a lot too, we'll I guess we've all had our fair share of rough times, no one ever said this life was easy"

"Yeah" he chuckled darkly "ever since my brother left my parents have been gone more often. He was always their favorite, he as smarter than me, more well liked than me, never got into much trouble. He moved away last year, so he could be closer to the college he was going to. Ever since then I've barely had any relationship with my folks. They could care less about what I do, or what becomes of me"

"Kid" I whispered as we sat together in the dwindling humid air of the late summer evening.

I had always been surrounded by the type of people who had been born with a silver spoon in their mouths. I never was able to identify with them, and they didn't accept me in the slightest, a down on her luck girl, whose parents didn't even want anything to do with her, to them, my very existence, was a crime. I had never known anyone else who had come from the same place as I had, after coming here I found that I really wasn't alone after all, it was rather sad, but nonetheless comforting.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*Sanji's Perspective*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Virginia sure has been gone a long time" Chopper pointed out

"I wonder where she ran off to, I hope she didn't run into any trouble" Robin speculated

"Robin, don't say things like that, you're scaring me" Usopp complained

"What are you planning to do, split up and go search for her?" Ace asked sarcastically

"That's a great idea!" I cried, I wasn't going to let anyone lay a hand on my Virginia-chan

"I was joking" Ace stated flatly

"Listen, if anything happened to my beautiful Virginia-chan you're gonna be sorry" I scolded; Ace just doesn't understand that men were put on this earth to protect women, and that's exactly what I was going to do.

And with that I set off to look for Virginia-chan, I couldn't allow anyone else to take her away from me for that long.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Virginia's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"It seems your friends are calling you" Kid noted

"Oh, sorry, they can be a bit high-strung at times, but they mean well"

"Go ahead" He smiled

"Okay, I'll see you around then" I said as I hugged him quickly before turning to leave.

I turned around and walked down a bit from where Kid and I had been sitting when I came face to face with a cross looking Law.

"Law…" I cringed as he stepped closer to me. His customarily stoic expression flashed to one of ire, yet his eyes still gleamed with anguish. I could feel the warmth of his body against mine as he inched himself closer to me.

"I thought you and Eustass were…" his sentence trailed off and faded into a soft frown as he slowly stepped back.

"Can I show you something?" He asked

I didn't even have time to respond before he grabbed my hand and was pulling down the sidewalk.

"Law, where are you taking me?" I managed to say after noticing he had successfully dragged me three blocks away from the school "hey! Law! I'm talking to you!" I tried again to get his attention.

The night sky had grown darker and only the dim street lamps lit the sidewalk of the quiet suburban paradise. As the light drained from the sky so did the heat of the day, and in its place was a cool, crisp breeze. Law unzipped his black hoodie and slowly slid it off his shoulders.

"Here, you need this more than I do" He said as he handed it to me

"Oh, but now you only have a tee-shirt"

"You only have a…that" he gestured to my skimpy cheerleading uniform that I was still stuck wearing.

"No, I'm fine" I declined as I gripped my shoulders

"You'll get sick, and as your future doctor I insist"

"And who, may I ask, appointed you to that position?" I laughed as I slid my arms into his hoodie. Law was so skinny that it shouldn't have been as baggy on me as it was, but alas, our height difference was fairly significant. Law was almost six feet tall, and as a junior in high school, it was no question that he'd be getting even taller, I, on the other hand, was at most, five foot four, most likely done growing too. The hoodie was almost as long as the skirt I was forced to wear, but nevertheless, it was much warmer.

Law and I continued to walk down the streets of the neighborhood, and though I had no idea where he was taking me, I felt totally safe with him.

He led me down a familiar path lined with various trees "the playground?" I thought "why on earth would Law bring me here?" He pulled me down on next to him on one of the benches that overlooked the simple landscape. "Law, why did we come here?" I asked in a more harsh voice than I had intended on using.

He shrugged his shoulders slightly as he rested his elbows on his thighs and rubbed his eyes with his hands.

"Law, are you okay?" I asked as I placed my hand on his back

"I used to come here a lot when I was a kid" He softly muttered "have you ever been here before?"

"Yeah, not too often, Beverly wasn't too keen on taking me places"

Though it was dark, and I could barely even see my hand in front of my face, I could tell Law was crying. "My parents would take my siblings and I here all the time, back then everything seemed so different, I can hardly imagine it now that just about everything has changed"

"Law, what happened, you can tell me anything" I tried to console him

"I'm sorry" he said as he slowly sat up "I really wanted to come here one more time, but I wouldn't have been able to do it alone" He hugged me "I'm sorry if I worried you, I just…really needed this" he said as he regained his composure "thank you"

I couldn't think of anything to say in return, I had no idea what was wrong, and why he was so sad, but I knew that there was something far worse than I had initially imagined.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Law offered "I know it's late, I'm sorry if I get you into any more trouble"

"No, it's alright, I can get home myself" I said as headed down the path and back out onto the sidewalk. "oh, Law, your hoodie" I remarked as I began to take it off so I could give it back to him.

"Don't worry about it, you'll need it for your walk home, just give it back to me tomorrow" he called. Though it was too dark to see, I pictured him standing there with his usual ominous smirk across his face.

I pulled the jacket over my shoulders and walked back home.

* * *

**A/N **And this is the part where I regret that I didn't listen to myself and write this in the third person, because now that I have introduced so many characters I have to switch perspectives just to get their takes on certain things, which is always hard for me because I always forget who I am writing for. I'll try to keep it to a minimum but when the characters are separated sometimes I need to get their intake. Oh well, what's done is done.

And thank you to Shiningheart of ThunderClan for giving me the idea to have Law give Virginia his hoodie, it fit really well into this chapter.


	18. Chapter 18: The Price You Have To Pay

I woke up early that Saturday, unable to sleep after all that had happened the night before, combined with my haunting dreams, which made it impossible for me to relax. I got up and got ready for Saturday morning detention.

The air had cooled off substantially from the day before yet the sun still shined brightly through the wisps of delicate white clouds, and the crisp breeze of an almost autumn day rustled through the branches of fading green leaves. I slipped on an off white sweater over my black tee-shirt to avoid getting cold while I walked to school, and I wasn't about to wear Law's hoodie again either.

I walked the short while to the school and up the stairs to the main office to wait for Sir Crocodile to let us into the study hall room where would have to spend the rest of the day. When I got there Shachi and Penguin were already there, slouched over in their seats and half asleep.

"Oh, Virginia-chan, it's good to see you" Penguin smiled softly

"Sorry about this you guys, you shouldn't have to be here too" I apologized

"No, Virginia, you don't have to feel bad at all"

"Yeah, and we're glad we get to see you" Shachi grinned

"Thanks you guys" I responded whole heartedly

"No, don't you worry your pretty little head about it" Penguin remarked as he ruffled my hair

"And besides, did you really think we'd give Law all that time alone with you?" Shachi added

"Hey, speak of the devil" Penguin laughed as Law walked into the office, his shoulders were slumped over and he looked as though he hadn't slept at all the night before, the lines under his eyes were noticeably much darker than usual, which gave his face a somewhat skeletal appearance due to his dark sunken in eyes and well defined facial structure which was only accentuated by his slender neck and bony shoulders.

"Law, you look terrible, are you feeling alright?" I asked worriedly

"Thanks" he narrowed his eyes at my comment.

"Maybe terrible wasn't the right word to use" I thought as he collapsed in the seat beside me.

"Here" I said as I placed his hoodie on his lap.

"Uh, Law, why does she have your clothes?" Shachi asked mischievously as he and Penguin giggled amongst themselves. Law's face turned a bright crimson red at the ridicule of his friends

"Oh, how sweet, he's embarrassed" Penguin sang in a baby voice

"Thanks for lending it to me" I smiled hinting to him that he could ignore the incessant badgering which Shachi and Penguin were providing him with all too early in the morning.

"Alright you four delinquents" Sir Crocodile greeted as he entered the office "let's go" he said firmly as he led us out of the office and down to the study hall room "Now, the two of you sit here, and you two sit here" he growled as he sat us each on the outside corners of the room, making sure that we were separated from each other "Now, no talking, no shell phone usage, I want absolute silence throughout this entire day, if I hear one word coming from this room you are all going to be severely punished, and don't even think about trying to skip our early, I will be checking in on you periodically, and if I have any reason to suspect that something is wrong I am well within my rights to keep you here longer. That being said, you have the potential to be out of here by noon, should you choose to behave, that is, which I know proves to be a difficult task for you since you wouldn't be here in the first place if you were accustomed to following the rules. Any questions?" he asked in his malicious, stern voice "you are to sit here silently until you are dismissed" he added as he exited the room and locked the door behind him.

I was sitting in the corner directly opposite from Law, who by now, had collapsed on his desk "poor thing" I thought "he looked completely exhausted, he must not have slept well either" I inferred feeling quite enervated myself. I lightly rested my head on my desk as well; there was no use in sitting up attentively at this point.

"Virginia, are you asleep?" Penguin whispered loudly from across the room

"No" I mumbled as I pulled myself up off my desk.

"Stop talking, I don't need you getting us into any more trouble" Law muttered

"I thought I said no talking" Sir Crocodile nagged "and you" he growled as he walked over to Law "sit up" he demanded as he yanked the teen up by the collar of his shirt. "Now, stay in your seats and keep your mouths shut!" he grunted as he once again slammed the door.

"Well, that was unnecessary" I chuckled "are you okay, Law?"

"Fine" he muttered under his breath

"Well then" I said as I stood up "I'm bored, what time is it?"

"Nine-thirty"

"Ugh that means we have another two and a half hours to go" I groaned "and that's if Sir Crocodile lets us out at noon" I moped

"He's not going to" Law put it bluntly "we've already pissed him off"

"Stop being so negative" I teased as I climbed onto his desk.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sir Crocodile bellowed "get back in your seats you miserable brats" he scolded "now, since you can't seem to follow simple orders, I am going to have to keep you here later, aren't I. You will now have to stay here until three o'clock"

We all sat back down silently to wait for the time to pass. "You guys I'm getting sick of this room" I whined "anyone wanna walk around the school for a little while?"

"Are you crazy?" Shachi remarked

"Sire Crocodile will find out" Penguin warned

"I'll go" Law volunteered

"Alright then, let's go"

"And exactly how do you plan to get out of here? Have you forgotten that Sir Crocodile locked us in here and took the key with him?"

"No I haven't forgotten that" I smirked as walked over to the door and looked at the lock. I studied the angle between that and the light on the ceiling "simple" I muttered as I subtly angled the palm of my hand so that I could open the lock by using the light like some sort of laser. "Reflect" I whispered and a thin beam of light broke the lock on the door. I slowly opened the door and peered outside. "You coming?" I asked as I waited for Law to join me.

"Yeah" he murmured as he got up and the two of us started to leave the room

"Hey, wait" Shachi exclaimed

"Yeah, I mean we might as well come, we'll all get in trouble if you leave, we may as well take part in it as well" Penguin rationalized

"Okay, then come on" I rushed them as I motioned to the door; I couldn't help but notice a slight frown had crossed Law's face.

"So, where are we gonna go?" Shachi said as he put his arms around Law's and my shoulders

Law shrugged "the library, get something to read"

"Boring!" Shachi blurted out

"Keep your voice down, this may be a Saturday but there are still people here who can hear us, have you forgotten we weren't supposed to leave the study hall room" I reprimanded

"Sorry" Shachi smiled innocently

"And since when do you read Law?" Penguin asked. Law only shrugged his shoulders in response.

"Why don't you two go somewhere else while Law and I go to the library" I suggested

"No way!" they both screamed

"Shh, you have to be quiet" I whispered

"If we split up there's a better chance that we'll get caught" Penguin justified

"And we wanna be with you Virginia-chan!" Shachi cooed as he tugged me away from Law

"Hey, hey, now, why don't we respect her personal space" Law suggested when he saw Shachi was suffocating me

"Sorry, Virginia"

"If you guys can't all decide on one place we'll split up, you two have to promise to be quiet though" I said narrowing my eyes hoping they wouldn't screw it up for all of us. "Law and I are going to the library if you can't make up your mind" I declared

"Come on, let's go" Law suggested as he pushed me away from them

"What was that about personal space Law?" Shachi called

"Meet us back here when you're done" I reminded

"Will do"

"Are you sure we should let them alone like that?" I asked

"How much damage can just the two of them cause?" Law remarked

"I just hope they can stay quiet, and not get caught"

"They'll be fine, they may not be the most sophisticated of individuals, but they are far from stupid, they can be pretty resourceful when they need to be"

"I hope you're right" I muttered as we came to the entrance to the library.

"It's locked" I sighed "What do you want to do now?"

"You know" He started "there is another door on the other side, I find that it's never locked because of its obscure location, it is a bit of a walk though, if you'd still be up for it."

"Sure, the only other option is to go back to the study hall room and wait for Sir Crocodile to yell at us dreaming of the good old days when corporal punishment was still allowed to be practiced in schools"

We walked down the stairs and completely around the school in complete silence. There was still tension in the air between us, but it was far less asphyxiating than when we first met. It felt more natural to be walking at his side, no matter how unbearably uncomfortable the total silence was.

He led me down an all-around too quiet hallway that seemed to be virtually unused, there were no locks on any of the rusted lockers and all of the doors were unmarked and the lighting was much dimmer than in the rest of this school, it was as if this area was just totally forgotten. The hallway led to an equally eerie staircase, the lights all flickered, and it was quite strange, there was an exit at what was presumably the library, but the stairs continued up, however I couldn't see any other exits, which only led me to wonder where it would lead. I couldn't shake the odd feeling I had as we walked up the stairs, I had no idea why but there was just something about the entire set up that didn't feel right to me.

"You don't need to be nervous" Law said calmly noticing the grimace on my face "it's just the old part of the school, they don't use it anymore that's why it's not kept up very well"

Nothing he could say would make me feel any better, I couldn't even explain it, let alone justify it. I reached out and tightly grabbed Law's hand as if it was the only thing that would protect me from whatever it was that I was afraid of. He didn't seem to react to my rather impulsive action, nor did he object to it, he continued up the stairs as if nothing had happened.

He turned the handle on the wooden door and let us into the library. The door was unlike most doors found in a school, it was made solely out of wood, there were no windows whatsoever, and it was pushed up against the back wall, it made me wonder if the staff here even knew about it.

"Here we are" He said in a cheery voice "we can go back the usual way, since we can unlock the main door" he suggested knowing that I didn't like the alternate route we had taken.

"So, what book are you looking for" I asked

"Nothing in particular, I'm sure I'll find something though" he responded as he skimmed through the various bookshelves. I headed over to the reference section, if we were really going to set out to find the One Piece I would have to learn as much as possible about the ocean and the various islands that inhabit it, especially of the New World, if we were to ever make it there.

Law and I had found books that piqued our interests and sat together at a table to read. "So you are quite studious" I laughed watching Law completely enthralled by the book he was reading.

"Hmm, and where did you hear that, Miss?" he inquired in his usual snarky tone

"Kid told me" I answered, not really wanting to lie to him.

"Kid…" He sneered "What else has that red headed lunatic been saying about me"

"I realize the two of you don't get along, but that's no excuse to be rude" I snapped

"I see, so I'd assume form that I can take it as you and Eustass have…" again, he refused to finish his sentence

"That Kid and I what?" I growled

"You know what I mean, don't make me say it, I don't want the thought to even enter my mind"

"Why, are you jealous?"

"Of what? Eustass, don't make me laugh, of course not, anything that he has I obviously wouldn't want" he retorted as he stood up and began to walk away furiously.

"Well, I'll have you know that Kid and I are nothing more than good friends, and I like to think that so are we, so maybe you ought to rethink that statement" Law stopped dead in his tracks at that remark "or maybe I need to reevaluate what I think about you" I cried. Law stood frozen, unsure of exactly how to react. The tension that we had let go of just hours before now polluted the air again, and the dead silence didn't help the situation.

"See you later, Law" I muttered as I stood up to leave.

"Wait" a cold hand grabbed my wrist "I'm sorry" he mumbled "I shouldn't have said all that. Please…don't go" he slowly let go of my wrist and covered his face with his hand.

"Is he crying?" I wondered. My mind flashed back to the day before, the reason we were even here in the first place. I couldn't find it in my heart to leave, no matter how badly my mind wanted to, my heart won the battle.

I sighed and pulled him back over to our seats and let him rest his head on my shoulder. "Why don't you tell me what's really troubling you" I asked "you can tell me, whatever it is, trust me, you'll feel better"

"I can't" he sniveled "I just can't. I'd rather die with the memories than have to relive them"

"I understand it hurts, but the scar of having to relive it is only skin deep, hiding it is like a disease of the mind that slowly kills you a little more each day"

"I don't want to get you involved" he muttered almost unintelligibly "it's not your place, and I wouldn't want to put you in a position like that, that could get you into so much trouble"

"Law, you can tell me anything, I don't care how bad you think it is, or what trouble it may cause me, because I can tell you that what I've been doing is much worse"

"Please, I just can't, especially not here, not now" he whimpered as he roughly grabbed my other shoulder to hold me closer to him.

He remained in that positing for a few minutes before sitting up and recollecting himself. He wiped the tears off his face and turned back to me again. He held my chin between his thumb and index finger as he gently brushed away the few tears that had escaped from my eyes and traveled down my cheeks.

We stayed in the library for a while longer enjoying our newfound freedom, making light conversation, avoiding discussions over the recently transpired events.

"We should probably start heading back, it must be close to three o'clock by now, and we still have to meet Shachi and Penguin again" Law suggested

"Shouldn't they be here by now, it's been a while, I hope they didn't get in trouble"

"Don't worry about them, like I said before, they can be pretty resourceful in situations like these, they won't get caught too easily" He explained leaning up against the wall next to me.

He stood their motionless for a minute then turned to face me. He placed his other hand on the other side of me, enclosing me between him and the wall behind us. He moved in so close to me I could feel his heart beating, its pace quickened with each step forward he took "What is he doing?" my mind screamed as he leaned down so we were at eye level with each other. "Is he going to…" the connecting thoughts resonated in my mind but weren't processed enough for me to make sense of. His lips were mere millimeters away from mine when sound of Shachi and Penguin running down the hall calling for us pulled us out of whatever other world we had fallen into. A familiar scowl came over Law's face as he pulled himself backwards releasing me from his hold as the two boys turned the corner still shouting at us.

"Law! Virginia, we have to go, now!"

"We just saw Sir Crocodile he's headed for the study hall room, if we don't get back he'll see we aren't there!"

"Dammit" the profanity escaped Law's lips for a multitude of reasons and the four of us took off down the hall.

"That's quite enough, you four" the stern voice stopped us from continuing in a v-line for the study hall room "I see you're supposed to be in detention now"

We turned around to the somewhat pleasant surprise of Mr. Newgate and not of Sir Crocodile.

"I can see you've all been here a while, so I'll strike you a deal, I'll tell Crocodile that I asked you to come up and help me with something"

"And what do you ask for in return?" I immediately asked

"You already know what I need of you, so my request is that you don't give up your dream, like I did. Do we have a deal?"

"Of course we do Mr. Newgate" Penguin said "thank you for your help, sir"

He led us back to the study hall room which Sir Crocodile had already made it to.

"Newgate" He scowled

"Ah, Crocodile, it's nice to see you too, how has this lovely day been treating you so far"

"Cut the act Newgate, why are you here?"

"I was just bringing back the students I borrowed. You see, I needed some help in my classroom, and well, an old man like me should over exert himself, so I merely borrowed them for a few minutes, I'm sorry to interfere with your punishment, I would have asked you but you weren't in the room, and they weren't doing anything except sitting there in silence, I figured I may as well put them to work" He lied

"Don't pull anything like that again Newgate, I am in charge of the little felons on Saturdays, I would be more than willing to turn my job over to you if you are willing to deal with a slew of delinquent kids every week, if not then leave them to me."

"I wasn't trying to take your job, I merely was in need of assistance of a young, more able body than mine" He continued with his story which seemed very well worked out for something he'd only thought of a minute ago.

"Alright then, Newgate, I'll let them off the hook, this once, but just remember, I'm not above fighting a senile old fool like yourself"

"Understood" Mr. Newgate smirked at the anger that was flashing through Sir Crocodile's eyes.

"You are free to go now" he hissed "now get out of my sight"

The four of us left the school after our eventful day of Saturday detention "Well, that was quite fun" I muttered "Shall we do this again sometime" I joked.

"I'm free next week" Shachi played along

"Same time, same place?" Penguin chimed in "I'll be there!"

"As long as you don't drag me to another one of your stupid football games, I'll take this" Law said

"No, you're going to those too" Penguin stated

"You have no say on the matter" Shachi laughed

"And besides, Virginia's gonna be there all scantily clad and stuff, don't you wanna see that?"

"Hey!" I objected

"Oh, we're just kidding around Virginia, you know we love you"

"Of course" I said as I hugged them both. "Here give me your hands" I said as I pulled out a pen from my bag and wrote my number on the both of their hands "so we can keep in touch" I smiled as the two brimmed with happiness. "You too Law, give me your hand" I scrawled my number out on his hand "I'll see you soon okay"

He wrapped his arms around me one last time before we all headed home in separate directions.

* * *

**A/N** anyone catching the allusions to The Breakfast Club? No? Oh well, I can try, but in all actuality, I may have gone a bit overboard with this chapter, I was really excited about it. To be honest, this chapter was originally supposed to be completely lighthearted and fun, just the four of them together, joking, running amok in the empty school, casual teasing from Shachi and Penguin on Law's ever so pink cheeks, but like I said, I don't control these characters, they do what they want, I just write what they tell me ;) And now Whitebeard, I mean Mr. Newgate is starting to serve a purpose, hmm, so many secrets in one school, so little time. I'm going to have to refrain from writing this at so called inappropriate times, like during school, which I sadly have to go back to in less than a week *frowns* I wish I was like Virginia, didn't have to pay attention and still knew everything, plus she has Law and Kid. If either Law or Kid went to my high school I don't think I would mind having to wake up at five a.m. everyday to catch a bus.

I own none of the One Piece characters, ideas, stories, etc.


	19. Chapter 19: Insomnia

After getting a lecture from Beverly on how I'm such an ill-behaved brat, and how she wished she didn't have to take care of me and a bunch of other redundant lines she would say to me just about every day regardless of what I did, I went down to my room to detox after such a strenuous day. I was greeted by a barrage of text messages from my two hat headed friends who were enthusiastically planning our next 'get together' as Penguin put it. They began to talk about some annual end of the summer party at the Nefertari's house, I had already been badgered to go by Luffy and the others, especially Sanji, I had already made plans to meet and Ace and Luffy's house before, and the second offer from my two hat headed friends was hard to decline due to the incessant begging.

"But Virginia! You have to come with us" They whined

"If you won't come with us Law's not going to go at all"

"I'm sorry guy, I already made plans…"

"But Virginia, we can't convince Law, he's too stubborn"

"And you think I'll be able to convince him, if he wouldn't agree to you guys what makes you think he'd comply just because I asked him to?"

"Well, you got him to go to a football game, and a school sponsored event, we couldn't get him to do that"

"What are you saying?"

"Nothing" I could almost hear the laughter through the text message.

"Well, I'm not going to stand up my other friends, but you're more than welcome to come with me, I'm sure they won't mind, well, maybe Usopp will, but Usopp is against a lot of things, he'll live."

"Really, you mean it!"

"Yes, that's why I just took the time to write it out"

"Great! How about the five of us do something before we go?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"To not be trapped in a school"

"Well okay, why don't you tell Law, and think of a place to meet and tell me tomorrow, I'm going to bed now"

"Okay, we'll see you tomorrow Virginia-chan!" Shachi wrote stylized with an extremely over enthusiastic smiley face.

I put my phone away and laid down, in the hopes of getting a well-deserved good night sleep.

I found myself in the familiar scene; the second floor library and Ember, the lighting was dim at best, and the small windows that adorned the walls were void of light, nothing but a thick, black darkness covered the outside.

"Did you see this Virginia?"

"No, I haven't, what is it?"

"It says that there's something hidden in all of the schools that were built by the World Government, they were placed there to keep from being discovered after the execution of Gol D. Roger"

"Really? Then does that mean that there's something hidden here, that the World Government hid to keep young pirates from finding the One Piece?"

"I wouldn't know about all that, but they're definitely hiding something, and there is something here, I know that much"

"Well, then you know what we have to do, right?"

"Of course, but where do you think they'd hide something like that?"

"Isn't there an old storage room in the basement? I think that's a pretty good guess."

"Yeah, that would make sense, but they always keep that door locked, I've tried, there's no way we could get in"

"There is one way, as long as you bring a flashlight"

"What are you planning on doing?"

"I've found a way to make better use of my ability; if it's taken away my ability to swim, the least I can do is try to harness its full potential; never underestimate the potential of light, I can manipulate it to work to my advantage. If I can get it at just the right angle I'll be able to use it to cut through the lock"

"Really, that's quite useful"

"I've got to have a practical use for it, especially if we're going to take on the World Government"

"Right, I need to start training too, we'll need to be strong"

We nodded in agreement as she opened the door to the hallway. When I stepped out the entire world around me went black. "Roslind?" I called but got no answer in return "Roslind where are you?" I continued to call as I walked through the darkness. I walked down the hall until coming to a room that was fully illuminated. I tried once again to call out for my friend but I wouldn't make a sound. The room was coated in a thick layer of sweltering, humid air that caused me to choke every time I tried to open my mouth to call out for Roslind. The ground under my feet burned like hot coals as I desperately tried to stay conscious. I staggered through the intense heat of the inferno that could only be comparable to that of the very depths of Hell itself. I came upon a door at the end of the hall, gasping for air and desperate to find a way out I opened the door not caring where it would lead me. I pushed open door as fast as I could and fell to the cold tile floor beneath me. I picked myself up off the ground and observed the familiar environment. I slowly walked down the eerily lit uninhabited hall embellished with nameless doors. I felt the similar feeling as before and quickened my pace looking for an exit. I heard a soft ringing sound resonating off the walls of the deserted hall. I tried to call out for help, but once again no words formed. My heart was beating at a dangerously fast pace, but I paid it no mind, my only focus was on escaping. I came to a dead end; I cringed as the worst possible scenario played out before my eyes. Within a split second I was rendered unable to move as I felt something restraining me against the cold wall. I desperately surveyed my surroundings, yet the entire hall was vacant. I felt tears welling up in my eyes as the room started to go black. I mustered up every last bit of strength I had to call out for help and screamed "Law!"

I sprang up in my bed out of breath. I rubbed my eyes, still not yet used to the dark and turned over. "Is that my phone?" I questioned at the annoying ringing sounds that was filling the still air of the basement, I glanced at the clock two-thirteen "Who in their right mind would be calling me at this hour?" I wondered but had no qualms about answering the phone anyway.

"Hello?" I muttered more breathless than I thought

"Are you alright?" The low, clam voice on the other line asked

"Law?" I questioned in utter disbelief

"Virginia, are you okay?" He asked worriedly

"Yeah I'm okay" I replied as I my breathing began to return to normal, hearing his voice calmed me down substantially. "Why did you call so late, or early if you rather"

"I was hoping to get your voicemail; I didn't mean to wake you up"

"No, don't worry about it" I said, thankful that he had. "What are you doing up at this hour anyway mister?"

"I haven't been sleeping too well lately"

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, yes, don't let it worry you, I'm okay"

"So, what was your purpose for calling anyway?"

"Oh, I was just confirming that what Shachi and Penguin told me is true" He explained

"What?" I asked not fully alert "Oh, right, yes, yes, I said we were meeting at Luffy's house, I don't know if they told you that, and they mentioned something about wanting to meet beforehand, I told them to think of somewhere to meet, did they do that?"

"They mentioned something about it"

"They didn't pick a place did they?"

"I wasn't told anywhere in particular"

"Then why don't we just meet at my house, if we don't spend too much time there Beverly hopefully won't lecture you too much"

"Are you sure?"

"It's alright by me; I'll tell Shachi and Penguin in the morning, you'll have to tell Bepo"

"Alright good night, Virginia"

"Good night, Law"

I hung up my phone and set it aside once again. "Another restless night" I thought as I looked at the ever-ticking clock on the wall.

I lied back down to rest for another unsuccessful few hours to conclude my horrible night sleep.

The next morning I casually sent Shachi, Penguin an Law my address, an action I hoped I wouldn't soon regret, Law was in charge of getting Bepo up to speed on everything, I couldn't help the fact that he hadn't gotten detention with us.

"What am I even supposed to wear to something like this" I wondered, I had never been to a party before. I pulled out something casual; it was near a beach after all. And lucky for Vivi, the day was much warmer than the previous one. I pulled on black shorts and a white V-neck tank top, seemed like it fit the situation.

I walked up the stairs and headed outside to wait for the four boys to show up.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Beverly chimed ever so lovingly

"Out" I replied flatly

"I don't think so missy, I haven't forgotten about the little stunt you pulled yesterday"

"Stunt? I had detention"

"And that's why you're not going out today!"

"Since when have you been concerned about parenting me?"

"Since it's obvious that there is no hope for you in any schooling system that the World Government has ever designed"

"There's no hope for anyone in anything the World Government has ever designed"

"Stop saying things like that, they'll only get you into more trouble!"

"As long as I am saying what I believe in I will gladly accept any punishment for my actions" I growled "now, if you'll excuse me, I have some people I promised I'd meet" I narrowed my eyes at her as I walked outside.

I sat down on the front steps of my house to wait for them to show up. Before they could I got a call from Kid. I felt so bad that I hadn't made any plans with him and I had already agreed to do so much with Law and his friends that I compulsively invited him to join us at Vivi's.

"Kid, were you planning on going to the Nefertari's tonight?"

"No, why were you?"

"Well, actually, yes, Law…"

"I'll be there" He responded instantaneously before hanging up.

"This is going to backfire, isn't it?" I asked myself stunned that even I thought that was a good idea in the first place. I couldn't help wanting to be with all of my friends, could I?

* * *

**A/N **Why plan a party on a Sunday, why not plan a party on a Sunday? I don't know, ask Vivi, but of course she doesn't plan that anything bad will happen, she's too good for that stuff. Plus Vivi's house in on the coast, I figured that seemed like an appropriate place. But I promise that it does serve a purpose, plus I get to introduce even more characters! Yay! We all see how I love doing that.

I don't own One Piece, all rights go to Eiichiro Oda.


	20. Chapter 20: Meet my Friends

"What the hell did I just do?" I asked myself as I slapped my palm against my forehead and shook my head realizing I had just done possibly the stupidest things that I could have ever imagined to do. Why the thought even crossed my mind I had no idea. I guess it seemed like a while since I had seen Kid, even though I had on Friday. Maybe I felt bad that I spent all Saturday with Law, and was about to do the same on Sunday. Whatever my reason was, it wasn't nearly good enough as it needed to be.

"Are you ready, Virginia-chan?" Penguin asked from down the block as the four of them walked to my house.

"Come on! Let's go!" Shachi called as he and Penguin grabbed me by the arms and pulled me away with them.

Law chuckled enigmatically under his breath as he watched me squirm to break free from Shachi and Penguin's grasp. "Come on guys, let me go, it's not funny!" I moaned "Where are you taking me anyway?"

"It's a surprise" Shachi giggled

"I don't like surprises" I warned digging my feet into the ground and falling straight back into Law's arms.

"Be more careful Miss" He smirked as he steadied me to my feet.

"Virginia, is that what you're planning on wearing tonight?" Shachi asked

"Yes, what's wrong with it?"

"Nothing, just, the party is on a beach…"

"No" Law responded coldly "don't even think…"

"You'll need something more suitable for a beach.

"It's not like I'm going to go swimming, it's too cold anyway, Shachi" I tried to rationalize

"So, come on, it's on a beach for a reason!"

"And we can help you pick something out"

"She looks fine" Law said trying to get out of the situation that already turned his cheeks red

Shachi and Penguin pouted in response but relinquished the argument before angering Law; they knew that it would not have been a good idea.

The five of us strolled into the market area of our small town, without anything better to do.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Law's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"It's too hot out here, and we've been walking for hours! Can we have a rest?" Bepo complained as we walked down the streets of our town.

"It's only been thirty minutes!" Shachi barked, enjoying his spot next to Virginia. Both he and Penguin were smiling like imbeciles whatever they were thinking, I wish they'd stop.

"Alright Bepo, there are some benches over by the fountain, it must be pretty warm with all that fur" She said as she pat him on the head

Bepo immediately collapsed on the bench closest to the water.

"Are you coming Law?" Had I really been walking that far behind them?

She sat down next to me, earning a frown from Shachi and Penguin, I would have loved to wrap my arm around her and pull her in closer to me, to feel her soft hair and her warm skin against mine. To just enjoy every single detail of her person. The soft smile she so often wore, despite any hardship she'd been through, the way she looked out for others, the way she cared about me, I can't say it's something I'm used to. The stars in her eyes, which reflected the same kid of mourning as in mine.

How could I have fallen in love with someone I'd only just met? It certainly was a peculiar phenomenon, to feel this way for someone who you knew so little about. I tried to justify every one of my feelings and thoughts about the girl with any other reason; vulnerability, loneliness, hormones, but no matter which way I spun it I knew the truth, I loved her, I couldn't help it, there was something about her, something of which I'd never seen before, I couldn't understand it myself, whatever it was, it was truly remarkable, I hated and loved the feeling all at once.

Maybe it was our shared disdain for the World Government that made her so relatable and what's more, she went to Ember, she had piqued my curiosity ever since she said that, but I never thought I would wind-up surrendering every last grain of my will power to her, maybe it was the pain she felt resonated with me, maybe it was the way she cared so much for me, someone she'd only just met, yet she treated me as though we'd been together for years. Maybe it was that I couldn't bring myself to tell her the truth on the subject, maybe it was that I didn't want her to know, and it nearly ripped out my heart when she confided in me, and I couldn't bring myself to do the same, but still I would gladly take away any pain she felt, if it meant she wouldn't hurt anymore. Maybe it was the mystery about her, the fact that I knew there was much more about her that I didn't know, something that made my heart ache every time we would talk about the past. Whatever the reason was, all I knew was that we were both hiding things from each other, and perhaps it was best kept that way. I couldn't stand to watch another person I loved suffer.

My heart sank deeper into my chest knowing how dangerous the situation could be, knowing that I'd willing throw my life away for her, that I'd give her my heart just to earn her trust, that I'd go to the end of the earth and back just to gain her love that I so desperately lusted for.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Virginia's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Maybe we should start heading over to Ace and Luffy's, it's a rather far walk" I suggested seeing as we hadn't found anything to do but walk aimlessly around the market place.

The five of us walked to the address Luffy had given me, and that I had confirmed with Ace, just to be safe, since Luffy isn't the best at remembering things.

When we reached the address a large woman with curly red hair and a pink beaded necklace answered the door.

"And who the hell might you be?" She grunted "One of Ace and Luffy's friends?"

"Yes"

"I've never seen you before"

"I'm new to their school"

"Wait, you're not the little girl who they've been going on about who made them decide to become pirates, since that's all they've been talking about for the last two weeks"

"Uh, maybe…"

"And I take it your also the reason some of my good sake went missing"

"Maybe"

"Ace, Luffy, your little friend is here!" She shouted

The two came running down the hall at full speed.

"I win again Luffy" Ace declared

"No way, I so won this time!"

"We're you even watching, I was a whole half a second faster than you"

"You were not!" They argued

"Hey! What did I tell you two about running in my house?"

"I won! I won! I won! I won! I won!" Luffy whined

"You're such a crybaby"

"I am not! Virginia, who won?"

"I'm not taking part in this"

"You know I won, you just don't want to admit you lost to your little brother because you know I'm going to be the one that finds the One Piece!"

"You did not, and you will not"

"I will to! And I've already got my crew, that puts me ahead of you" He stuck his tongue out at Ace "But I'll still give you option to join my crew, since I'm such a nice little brother"

"Stop embarrassing yourself Luffy, we have company over"

"Oh, right, Virginia, we're gonna be the ones to find the One Piece right, not Ace"

"But of course"

"See!"

"That's just because you already got her to join your crew!"

"Yeah, and I've got entire crew backing me up, you don't have anyone else on your crew yet!"

"Oh really?"

"Yes, really, so there! Hey, who are they?" Luffy asked just noticing the other people I'd brought with me "Hey, isn't that the talking bear?"

"I'm sorry!" Bepo cried

"Hey, how can you talk?"

"I'm sorry!"

"Bepo, stop apologizing" I consoled him "Luffy, this is Bepo, he's a talking bear, this is Penguin, you won't have to remember his name because he has it written on his hat for you, this is Shachi, and this is Trafalgar Law"

"Oh hey, aren't you guys in our history class?" Luffy asked

"That's what I tried to tell you Lu…never mind"

"Well, come on in then!"

"Okay, I hope it's okay that I brought them along, I forgot to call you and ask"

"The more the merrier, I can see Tra-guy's a good guy, is he your nakama?"

"Yes"

"Well then, do you wanna join my crew?"

Law thought for a moment before giving Luffy his answer "No, I already have plans for the future"

"Oh, okay then, come on it you guys" Luffy smiled as he let us into the house "Make yourselves at home, there's not much, Dadan doesn't want to give us any cushy things, she wants us to be strong, it's like she's training us, right Dadan?"

"No"

"Ha ha, she's helping us to get stronger so that we can all become strong pirates"

"Stop with that talk, your grandfather, Garp, will kill me if I have you spewing that kind of nonsense"

"So, Virginia, you haven't met Vivi yet, have you?"

"No, that's why I'm still not sure if it's alright that I'm coming or…"

"Of course you can come, Vivi's our friend, and she invites everyone, she doesn't want anyone to feel unwelcome. You'll like her; she's very loyal, like you"

"Oh, well thank you Luffy"

"Hee hee, no problem, all my friends are good people no matter what others may say" Luffy's remarks made my heart smile. He was always like this, at least from what I've seen him, so upbeat, positive, and always so trusting. Though those were all good things to have, things I wish I had more of, being more of a pessimist than an optimist, and rarely ever trusting anyone, it was a miracle I felt so calm around him, I guess it was his child like naïveté, but those qualities could prove to be dangerous, when we set out to search for the One Piece he'll learn that not everyone is as forthcoming as his nakama.

The rest of our friends drifted in and we set off for Vivi's house. By now it was the late evening and the sun would be setting soon, I bet it would be beautiful on the water.

* * *

**A/N**: Ugh, I can't tell you how many times I rewrote this chapter! The only part that's been semi-consistent from the beginning is the end. the part in Law's perspective was originally supposed to be in Kid's perspective discussing how he's upset that Law's going and blah blah blah, but I couldn't get it to fit well. Sorry it's posted so late, I'm just a crazy person who spent way too much time on this chapter of which the pain purpose was only supposed to serve as a transition.


	21. Chapter 21: Meet and Greets

We walked over to the beach to Vivi's house for her party. It was a pretty nice night outside, not too warm, so at least I could use that as an excuse on Shachi and Penguin who would probably try to drag me into the water against my will, since it was clear that they didn't understand the concept of a devil fruit, and it wasn't too cold, warm enough so that we could be outside without getting cold, likewise the night was absolutely beautiful, it would be even better on the beach, the setting sun against the glistening cyan water, it would have been something out of a photograph. I hadn't been ever been to the beach, at least not that I can remember, Beverley sure as hell never took me. Roslind had been quite fond of the beach, she was always begging me to go with her, I forget why I always refused, but when she died two years ago I made a point of never going, maybe it was because I promised we'd go on her fourteenth birthday, the birthday she never lived to see, I hope she can forgive me for breaking our promise.

"Virginia, come on, I want you to meet Vivi!" Luffy sang as he grabbed my hand and stated dragging me behind him as he ran at full speed in god knows which direction.

"Straw-Hat-ya!" Law called "You're going to make her nauseous!"

"Oops, sorry Virginia!" Luffy laughed

"Are you alright?" Law asked worriedly as he held my shoulders

"Yes, I'm fine, how sweet of you to worry about me" I teased

"I just don't want to have to deal with you getting sick" He smirked "I'm not a doctor, yet, remember?"

"Tra-guy's really worried about our friend" Nami noted slightly narrowing her eyes

"It's kinda creepy" Usopp added still not liking the fact that they had come with us

"I wonder what he's thinking?" Robin said with a small smile

"I wouldn't want to know what horrible thoughts are coursing through that deranged mind of his, I could only imagine…"

"Usopp!" Luffy interrupted "Virginia's our nakama, and whether you like it or not Tra-guy's her nakama, so we'll have to accept him"

Luffy's so trusting, he trusted Law possibly more than I did, and he didn't even know him. I wonder how he does it, just sees the good in people like that.

"Come on Virginia, I want to you to meet Vivi!"

Luffy tugged me along until he found a fair-skinned blue-haired girl with big grey eyes.

"Vivi, hey Vivi!"

"Luffy, it's so good to see you" the blue-haired girl smiled softly

"Vivi, this is our new friend Virginia, Virginia, this is Vivi"

"It's nice to meet you, haven't I heard of you before?" she asked

"Uh, maybe"

"Wait, you're the new girl who stood up to Hancock, right?"

"Well, I wouldn't say…"

"Yeah! Virginia stood up for Nami, she knows the importance of her nakama, that's why she joined my crew"

"Oh really?" Vivi laughed not quite understanding what Luffy meant about his crew.

"Come on Vivi, I've missed you" A tan, blond boy said as he put his arms around Vivi

"Oh, Kohza, have you met my friend Luffy?"

"Vivi, who's this?" Luffy asked

"Luffy, this is Kohza, he and I have been best friends since we were little kids" She smiled

"Oh, so he's your nakama?"

"Something like that"

"Then it's nice to meet you!" Luffy smiled

"Luffy-chin? Luffy-chin is that you?" Another voice called

"Hmm… Oh, Camie! Camie, I didn't know you were here!" He screamed as he ran over to the pink-tailed mermaid with short, choppy, green hair.

"Luffy-chin!"

"Camie, I didn't know you were here, I thought you transferred to school on Fishman island last year?"

"I did, but I'm back now! Madam Shyarly told me I should come back here and see all my friends!

"Hee hee, that's awesome!"

"Hey, who's this Luffy, a friend of yours?"

"Yeah"

"Hi, I'm Camie, what's your name? It's awesome to meet another one of Luffy-chin's friends. Are you new, you weren't here last year?" She spoke in a rapid, upbeat pace as she smiled uncontrollably.

"I'm Virginia, I'm new here I came a couple weeks ago, so maybe I should stop saying that"

"It's so good to meet you!" She squealed and hugged so tightly that I couldn't breathe "I just love meeting Luffy-chin's friends, they're all so nice, and fun! It's so good to be back here! Luffy-chin, you and your friends must come with me to Fishman Island someday, it's so beautiful! And Pappug can't wait to see you guys again either"

"Yes! Fishman Island sounds awesome! We'll definitely go there after we set off to sea!" Luffy announced

"Luffy-chin, I have so many stories to tell you, I'm so glad we ran into each other!" Camie continued

"I'll leave you two to catch up" I said taking that as my cue to leave, I had already met to more people than I'd plan to today, now just the hope that Kid and Law hadn't murdered each other yet.

I walked through the halls of Vivi's house, hoping I'd run into one of them. "There sure are a lot of people here" I muttered, I usually wasn't used to this large of a crowd. I passed a room where a boy wearing a substantial amount of makeup and dressed in ballet shoes was dancing and singing loudly for the entertainment of some of his peers. "That doesn't seem like the kind of thing Law or Kid would want to be anywhere near" I murmured as I walked away from the room. There were too many people there for me to continue looking; there was not one part of the house that wasn't covered in teenagers. I sunk into a chair in a room filled with the bubbly chatter of my adolescent schoolmates, opposite a pink haired girl wearing a green hat who was making out with her ginger haired boyfriend.

"Hey! I said I was sorry, calm down!" A voice called from another room "ouch! Dammit I apologized already!"

"Ace?" I thought recognizing the scream "What are you doing?" I said noticing he had gotten into yet another fight.

"Hey, hey, break it up you two" A blond haired boy with a calm voice intervened

"Ace, why did you get into another fight?" I asked him concerned by his erratic behavior "Thank you for helping him, he's been having an off week"

"Don't mention it, my name's Marco by the way"

"Thank you Marco, mine's Virginia"

"Alright then Virginia, just call me if he gets himself into trouble again"

"Oh, sorry, thank you again" He smiled before he walked away "What were you thinking?" I turned my attention toward Ace who didn't respond "Answer me!"

"I'm sorry" he muttered

"Oh, and you're bleeding, you're just doing all kinds of wonderful things aren't you?"

"I said I was sorry"

"No, you're not, if you were you'd stop picking fights with random people, why were you fighting him anyway, did you see how much bigger he was than you, why didn't you just walk away?"

"I couldn't back down from a fight, especially not one I started" He bowed his head shamefully

"Don't let your hubris get the better of you" I warned "now, come with me"

"What, where?"

"You're bleeding"

"You're not my mother"

"And thankfully so, I'm sure she'd be rather upset by you starting all of these fights and then going and getting yourself injured" I scolded playfully. Ace chuckled in response "And just what are you laughing as now, sir?"

"You"

"Hey!"

"You're funny" he chuckled

"You're not allowed not make fun of me Mr. Freckle-Face" I joked

I pulled him down the various halls of the large house "Geez, do the Nefertari's have any bathrooms in this fucking place?" I asked rhetorically, starting to get a bit annoyed

"A little girl like you shouldn't be using that kind of language" Ace scolded

"You're not my father"

"And thankfully so, you'd be in a lot of trouble for using that kind of language around him"

I put my hand on my hip and pouted a bit "Keep walking Freckle-Face" I ordered.

I pulled him into the bathroom in the hopes of, if nothing more cleaning the blood off his face.

"So you're a doctor now too eh?"

"You don't have to be a certified medical doctor to know how to use water, hydrogen peroxide and a Band-Aid" I frowned

"Was all of that really necessary?"

"Why yes it was, unless you wanted it to get infected" I said in a snarky voice as I pushed him out the door "You're free to go"

I walked back down the hall and outside, I was right, the sunset was beautiful on the water. The warm glow illuminated the golden sand, and the red sky painted everything in its image "_red sky in the morning, sailors take warning; red sky at night, sailors delight_" I repeated in my head, wondering how many sunsets like this we'd see while on our journey.

"Tired, are we?" Kid asked as he joined me on the back porch, possibly the old quiet place around the entire house.

"Hmm, not really, I just wanted to see the sunset"

"Really?"

"Yes, isn't it magnificent?"

"Uh, yeah"

"Isn't nature spectacular, truly the greatest show on the planet" I said as I gazed into the vastness of the ocean.

"Mm-hmm" Kid responded as he wrapped his arms gently around my ribcage I always felt so safe in his arms, it was a feeling I rather enjoyed, a feeling I never wanted to go away, but there was something off about it, I couldn't explain.

"These days we don't really pay much attention to nature, and we forget how beautiful it is, all the natural colors, perfect in every shade, it always entranced me, the brilliant colors, and the emotions they evoke"

"You're so poetic" He whispered and nuzzled his head into my shoulder; his hair tickled my neck and chin.

"Kid…"

Before I had time to form a reaction I heard someone shouting, and the sound of something shattering from inside the house.

"I wonder what's going on" I muttered as we walked back inside.

I tall, tan boy with bright yellow hair was standing on the table in the middle of the room yelling something unintelligible.

"I don't think this is the kind of thing Vivi wanted to happen" I frowned "Who is that guy anyway" I asked as I narrowed my eyes at him from across the room.

"That's Bellamy, he's a pretentious, cocky, asshole, who doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself."

"I hate people like that" I muttered as I clenched my fists

"Don't do anything rash" Kid warned "He's not above fighting a girl"

"Good, then this should be fun" I smirked and walked right in front of him

"Well, well, well what do we have here?"

"It's a real shame when one person has to ruin something for everyone, how about you not be that person and kindly leave"

"My, aren't you something else" He grinned as he licked his lips with his reptilian tongue "you'll make a fine toy for me, I'll have to be sure not to leave too many scars" he laughed as he yelled out different calls on his devil fruit ability which were quite easy to dodge. "You're quite impressive, I wouldn't expect that to come from you" He grinned maniacally "that will make it all the more fun for me"

"I asked you nicely, to please leave, are you going to comply or am I going to have to force you?" I asked as I calmly walked directly up to him, not breaking my eye contact, showing him that I wasn't going to give up.

"You? You really think you can control me like that! Ha! This is even better than I thought! I hate to break it to you little lady, but do you see the difference between me and you, and yet you still think you have a chance?"

"Then maybe you should get down to my level" I sneered as I kicked his legs

"What the fuck was that you bitch!"

"I'm not going to lose to a conceited fool such as yourself, so don't test me"

"Is Bellamy really losing to that little girl?"

"He wasn't even able to get one hit on her"

"She just dodged them all"

"Is this some kind of joke?" the bystanders questioned among themselves

"Now" I began as I slammed his head against the ground "I'm going to ask you one more time to get out of here, are you going to listen, or am I going to have to drag you out of here myself?"

"Just exactly who do you think you are?" He whispered

"I do believe that's what I should be asking you, sir" I smirked and pinned his arms to the ground "it looks like I've caught you in a fairly unfortunate place, however shall we settle this" I teased

"Let me up you bitch!"

"Oh, no, I don't like that idea, how about you get your friends and get out of here, and we can pretend that this little fight never happened, or I break your fucking jaw, those are your two choices, you can pick, but why don't you save yourself a little face and go with the first one" I snickered

"I got to hand it to you, you're tougher than you look; perhaps I could take you out for a drink sometime"

"Reverse psychology doesn't work on me, sir, now get out, unless you really want to tell everyone you lost to a girl"

He laughed maliciously and slid his reptilian tongue out of his mouth, before he could speak I slammed his head into the broken glass of the bottle he smashed "your haughtiness disgusts me, sir, now get out of my sight" I said as I picked up a shard of glass and scratched his forehead just before I let him up "I'd like to see you explain that one away" I smirked, again acting at the whim of my impulsive mind.

The boy got up and left the house covering the cut with his hand. "I hate overconfident weaklings" I muttered.

* * *

**A/N**: Kohza and Vivi, always one of my favorite one piece couples, right up there with Shanks and Makino, I'll have to find a way to work them in there too, somehow.

I got to add in so many more characters, which always proves to be fun for me since there is virtually an unlimited arsenal of characters for me to chose from.

I had way too much fun writing the little brother-sister like relationship between Ace and Virginia, just too much fun.

I know that the idiom about the red sky is written multiple different ways, but I do believe that one is correct, though I have no idea who coined it so I cannot give them proper credit, but I can guarantee you that I did not.

The whole part with Bellamy was pretty spur of the moment, it was something I hadn't planed to add in, but, let's face it, Bellamy was pretty weak before the time skip, mainly because he was overly cocky, so I figured he'd be even worse when he was in high school, I don't really thin Virginia would have been able to signle handedly beat him now after the time skip, after he became connected to Doflamingo, and I just couldn't resist a funny back story for his scar, though nothing could beat Luffy's.

I don't own anything aside from my own ideas and character.


	22. Chapter 22: Trust

"I hate overconfident weaklings" I muttered as I shook my head lightly ad turned around "What?" I tilted my head to the side as smiled charmingly.

"Didn't I just get in trouble with you for fighting?" Ace said breaking the silence as he leaned into the doorway "Should we be worried about your behavior now?"

"Correction, you got into trouble for picking pointless fights, Freckle-Face"

"Don't pretend you're any better than me" He smirked and planted his finger against my forehead

"Hey, what's going on?" Luffy shouted as he ran into the room after hearing all the commotion

"What happened in here?" Vivi cried

"Bellamy showed up again" someone who had been watching the events informed her

"Bellamy" Luffy scowled "Where is he now?"

"Hopefully somewhere he can get his face stitched" Kid scoffed

"Hmm…" Luffy cocked his head in confusion

"Virginia kicked his ass" he laughed

"You did?" Vivi asked with a surprised look on her face

"Ha! I wouldn't have expected anything less from my crew!" Luffy cheered

"I didn't know you could fight" Kid said still taken aback by my horribly impetuous acts

"I'm not much a fighter, but I know when I have to, for the people I care about, I'd do anything I within my power"

"I just can't stand people like that, why would he want to go and ruin something for everyone else, what could he possibly gain from that?"

"Don't cry, Vivi" Kohza said putting his arms around the blue-haired girl

"I promised my father I wouldn't tear up the house" she sobbed

"Vivi, we'll help you fix everything" Luffy offered

"No, no, I couldn't possibly ask you guys to do that, it's too much"

"No, Vivi, you're out friend, right?"

"Yes, but…"

"Well isn't that what friends do? They help each other, right?"

"But…"

"Virginia, you'll help too right?"

"Of course" not only would that prolong my time away from Beverly, since I had no desire to go home and see her anytime soon, but I hate self-glorifying egomaniacs who have no respect for the likes of others of their property, like that of Bellamy. "Should we tell the others" I suggested

"Yeah. SANJI! NAMI! FRANKY! BROOK! ZORO! USOPP! ROBIN! CHOPPER!" Luffy screamed at a far too high volume

"Luffy, I don't think that's going to…"

"What do you want?" Zoro barked in a slightly slurred voice

"What is it Luffy-san?" Brook asked elegantly

"Hey, Luffy" Franky started

"Stop yelling you moron!" Sanji growled

"Is something wrong Luffy, is everyone alright?" Chopper came running in almost out of breath

"You called?" Robin chuckled lightly

"W-what's the matter?" Usopp asked nervously

"You don't have to be so loud" Nami scolded

"...work" I bowed my head in sheer disbelief

"So Luffy, what's going on?" Nami inquired

"Listen, we're going to help Vivi, okay?" Luffy announced without explaining the situation "is everyone okay with that?"

"Luffy, please" Vivi pleaded "I don't want…"

"Anything for you, Vivi!"Sanij swooned

"Okay, then that's that, Vivi, we'll stay and help you so don't worry" Luffy declared

"Thanks you guys" She smiled softly.

After a while people started to clear out, and we began to help Vivi fix everything up before her dad came home. I took it upon myself to go and find Law, Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo, since I hadn't seen them since Luffy had dragged me away for meet and greets.

I found Shachi Penguin, and Bepo sitting in the living room, but Law wasn't with them.

"Shachi, do you know where Law is?"

"I haven't seen him since earlier tonight"

"I think he went outside a while ago, he looked pretty upset about something, I'd suggest starting there, but it's been a while so I can't be sure"

"Oh, well thanks you guys" I smiled and left to look for Law

I walked out onto the porch, the night was magnificent, a million tiny stars danced across the late night sky. Law was standing aloof, leaning up against the raining.

"There you are" I sighed, relieved that he hadn't already left, since it was obvious he wasn't having a good time.

"Maybe I should be saying that to you"

"Sorry, I was in a meeting" I quipped

"So, were you planning on going home anytime soon?"

"We promised Vivi that we'd stay and help her clean up after Bellamy"

"Bellamy was here?"

"Does everyone know this kid but me?"

"Probably, what happened?"

"Nothing, I just politely showed him his place"

"What did you do?"

"Let me just put it this way, I am not very fond of arrogant weaklings"

"Hmm, I guess you do live up to that name of yours"

"What are you talking about?"

"Your name, you carry the D, you do know what that means right?"

"You too, huh?"

"What, you don't believe in that stuff?"

"No, but I just think that a name is nothing more than just that, a person should have the right to find their own purpose, and not be marked by that of the two people who fucked to get them here"

"Then you don't believe in fate then?"

"Of course I do, I believe that all of this was the work of fate, but just because I don't believe the name makes the person doesn't mean I disregard shadows of destiny that loom over us all"

"Sometimes I think fate screws us over"

"No one ever said that whatever's up their calling the shots was kind"

"I think maybe, whoever they are, sometimes they get it wrong"

"I guess you just have to believe that it's all for the best, it's hard to think that sometimes, but maybe it all does just even out eventually, when I got kicked out of Ember I thought that was the end of my already post-apocalyptic world, but I met Luffy, and Kid, and you, I wouldn't have any of this if that hadn't happened. Maybe everything does happen for a reason, though it can be hard to believe"

"Sometimes I wonder if I am the one who should even be here anymore"

"Never say that again!" I snapped "you can't possibly believe that, you have a greater purpose, you have to know that, there's a reason that you're here, so please don't talk like that. I'm sure whatever you're going through is no walk in the park, but your life's far too fragile for you to question it. You just have to live every day and just keep fighting until you get your head above water. You have to be grateful for the life you've got, and know that you have the power to change it, to overcome anything, to rise above any challenge, and to make it end up the way you want it to be, that road won't be easy, you just can't give up before you get there. Please Law, you have to believe that, if you give up now you'll never know what you were meant to do; if you can't say anything else, at least you can say that I'll always be there for you, please Law, you can't leave me here without you!" I buried my face into Law's chest, crying uncontrollably. I couldn't help what I had said, it was all beyond my control, I hadn't even thought of what I should have said to him before words just started forming themselves, I was speaking purely at the whim of my heart again, and any thought that dared to object to what my heart said would quickly be shot down, I was smart enough to know that yet I still had no control over it. I didn't know why I was that way; it was the same way I couldn't help from reading people, and feeling exactly what they felt. I couldn't explain it, I didn't know if it was something good or not yet, all I knew was that whatever it was got much stronger around Law, and at the same time whenever I was near him I felt as if nothing could hurt me. "You just can't, you can't, you can't!" my cries were muffled by the fabric of his sweatshirt.

"I won't" he said softly "and you promise the same?" I nodded slowly I didn't have any intention of letting go of him yet.

"Law" I started as I slowly looked up at him "can I show you something?"

"Of course, anything"

"Then come with me, please" I directed as I walked him away from the house. "Can you turn around please?"

"Why?"

"Please, this isn't the easiest thing for me to do, I don't trust people very easily, I've only ever willingly shown this to one other person" I said as tears streamed down my cheeks. I took a deep breath and slid my shirt over my head and unhooked the clasps on my bra to reveal the horrible mark that sat permanently between my shoulder blades. "You can look now" I muttered shamefully.

"That…that mark, is that the Hoof of the Soaring Dragon, the mark the Celestial Dragons use on their slaves?" he stuttered

"Yes"

"Then does that mean…"

"That's how Beverly got me into Ember she was the one who wanted me to go there, though my test scores were high enough to compete with any of the other students allowing someone from my background attendance, would have brought shame to the school, so I had to swear my allegiance to the World Nobles, I was reduced to an object when I was only six years old." I wept. Though I was too young to even know what was going on when I got the mark, I knew it was something terrible, I was always ashamed of it, it seemed that Beverly was more concerned about getting me into a school close to the World Government than actually taking care of me, she was willing to let them objectify me for a reason that was out of my control, I couldn't help who my parents were. It's funny, it seems they weren't thought of too fondly by the government, but Beverly had always claimed that my mother was worse than her, implying that she was exactly like her, I never paid it much mind, but there was always something that ate away at me, wondering who they really were, I would have loved to have known, no matter who they were, criminals, marines, of even nobles, it wouldn't have mattered, I just wanted to know. But who was I to believe, those who were branding me as an object for them to possess, or the woman who allowed them to do so?

Law silently traced the mark with his finger "I wonder if I could find a way to remove it" He thought out loud.

"No! You can't, no matter how shameful it is, admitting that it got the better of my is much worse"

I concealed the mark once again and turned around to face Law.

"I won't let them get away with that" He growled

"Let's go back inside now" I suggested deterring him from the subject.

"Eustass?" Law scowled

"Oh, how nice of you to join us, Trafalgar" Kid snickered

"Eustass, what are you doing here?"

"I came here to see a friend; I believe I am entitled to that, so keep your distance"

"I thought I told you to stop ordering me around"

"Oh really?" The two fired back at each other seconds away from a physical altercation.

"Stop arguing, that's not helping this situation!" I scolded and the two backed away form each other "_this could be very fun for me_" I thought

We continued to clean up Vivi's place until everything seemed to be exactly the way it was before we got there. Ace was already asleep on the couch, he'd been there for a while and Zoro had passed out somewhere along the way too. "Well, I guess it looks like another night I won't be coming home, let's see what conclusions Beverly draw this time" I thought as I watched the others slowly start to doze off. I, naturally, was unable to sleep. I never was one to fall asleep easily, but it had only gotten worse since Roslind died, and I was haunted by the unforgiving nightmares every time I did. I walked back outside to watch the midnight sky consuming the dark waters of the Grand Line.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Law asked as if he had the same idea as I had.

"Nah, sleep and I haven't gotten along in a while"

"Me either, why'd you come out here?"

"I like to watch the water, I find it soothing, so mysterious; so alluring, there's something about looking into the horizon that captivates me. It's strange, it's something that we can all clearly see, yet it's impossible to ever reach it. The place where the ocean and the sky meet isn't that all around us? Does that mean we are already where we desire to be? Does that mean we can never be where we desire to be? I guess it all just depends on how you look at it"

"It all seems so different out there, on the water, it seems like one would feel so free, yet chained to their ship, knowing they couldn't survive in the violent waters for long, it's frightening, yet tempting. Maybe it's the ever calling voice of unrequited trials. Maybe it's the voice of this era and its tantalizing rewards it promises"

"Law, do you want to become a pirate?"

"No, of course not, why would you think that?"

"The way you talk, you seem like you'd really be happy setting off to sea"

"No, well, maybe, but I need to be here right now"

"Why Law, what's holding you here?"

"Right now, well there are a few, for one I've got this pretty little girl I made a promise to not so long ago."

A smiled crossed over my face "what's your real reason, Law?"

"If you must know, I'm needed at home" he sighed not really wanting to share more

"Is there anything else you'd like to say on the subject?"

He closed his leaden eyes for a brief moment and inhaled deeply "My dad, he left us about six years ago, the bastard left my mom with a newborn. I was a ten-year old at the time, and what could I have done, absolutely nothing, I couldn't have done anything, but now I can. My brothers and I all have to band together just to keep up with the cost of living. I don't know where the hell he ran off to, or the cheap whore he took with him, but he's sure done a good job of never coming back, just like he promised."

I knew that wasn't the end of his story, but I wasn't going to push for anymore. He was like me, trust didn't come easily, and I didn't want to make him feel any worse that he already did.

"Well, why don't we go back in, it's getting late" he suggested as he helped me up and led me inside.

I must have fallen asleep very shortly after we got back in the house because I don't remember anything but leaning up against the couch in the back room of Vivi's house next to Law. I slept much sounder than I usually would, I wasn't woken up by one nightmare, the only other time that had happened in the past two years was the night I was at Kid's house, I subconsciously wondered why that was. Was it just a change from my usual habit? Nevertheless it was quite a pleasant feeling to not be woken up by the demons in my head.

When I woke up the next morning I found myself on the floor with Law asleep beside me and his arm draped loosely over me. My mind flashed back to the commonalities between the two days, remembering that the night we had stayed at Kid's house Law and I had fallen asleep next to each other. "_Was it because of Law? What was it about him that kept me safe from my own thoughts? Why did I feel so protected around him? Whatever the answers were it truly was a work of fate that brought us together, Trafalgar Law."_

* * *

**A/N**: Believe it or not, this is one of the first chapters I actually wrote, of course there are some differences that I had to change based upon the direction I took it, but this is something I had in mind for a while, and have been hinting at by the references to the students at Ember being slaves to the world government, that was my sad attempt to be subtle without completely blurting it out. And hey maybe now this leave room for Virginia and Hancock to make amends, probably won't happen until the distant future.

And with this, I regret to say that I probably won't be able to post another chapter for a few more days, sadly I'm starting school tomorrow, I'll try to post as often as I possibly can.

I don't own any part of One Piece.


	23. Chapter 23 Morning

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Law's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

I almost refused to wake up the next morning, I hadn't been able to sleep for more than a few hours each night in a long while, it was revitalizing to rest like this. I couldn't explain why I was able to sleep so well tonight, usually if not something in the house I keep myself awake for most of the night, but I felt so relaxed after what Virginia and I talked about last night. "_Does she really mean that, does she really want me here with her, do I really matter to her?_" the thoughts coursed through my still half asleep mind and my I opened my eyes to the bright morning sun "I wonder what time it is" my mind wandered before noticing the positing I had chosen to sleep in. "_When did I do that? I couldn't keep my fucking hands off her, could I? I hope she's not pissed at me; that would be the last thing I'd want to…"_

"Moring sunshine" She smiled "_morning sunshine, what the fuck is that supposed to mean_" my mind was thoroughly flustered

"May I get up now?" She continued in an overly sweet voice "_do I still have my arm around her, I'm such an idiot"_

"I didn't want to wake you up, you seemed so relaxed" I don't think my face could have been a brighter shade of red if I had tried "_she's fucking enjoying this isn't she?"_

We both sat up from our resting positions, it seemed everyone else was still asleep, even on a good night's sleep; I was awake before everyone else, other than her, of course.

"Law…" she wasn't using the snarky voice she had been before, but before I could even raise my head in response I felt her delicate arms warp around my neck "thank you, there aren't many people I can trust with what I've told you, but I know I can trust you"

I pulled her in closer to me "Of course you can" I wrapped my arms around her, embracing her entire body, she was so tiny, so innocent looking. She must have really been alone for the majority of her life. The room went silent after I let her go. The silence was common, I wasn't very amiable in the first place, and even so, there were some things of which words were not a necessity.

"Maybe we should get out there before they all wake up, we wouldn't want them drawing any conclusions" I suggested.

"Let them draw whatever conclusions they want to, you know how I feel about gossip, it's all hearsay" She responded but got up nonetheless.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*Virginia's Perspective*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

We left the back room and returned to the living room where everyone else had spent the night and waited for them all to wake up. It was still rather early, we had time before we'd have to leave for school, and if I left early I may even have time to stop at home and change clothes and grab my bag, I wonder if the others would do the same. It seemed we hadn't really planned that far ahead, oh well; it was a Monday, is anyone really at their best on a Monday?

Kid stirred a bit before waking up "What day is it?" he grumbled

"It's Monday" I decided to respond knowing the question was probably rhetorical.

"Why am I here?" He questioned, I couldn't tell if he was just confused, or maybe a little drunk, I hadn't seen him drinking too much last night, but I didn't know for sure.

"You stayed after to help me, because you're such a good friend" I figured that response would satisfy either situation.

Luffy woke up shortly after. Luffy seemed to be quite the morning person, but if anyone can ever picture Luffy at a time without energy unless he's literally dying, then they must not know Luffy at all.

"GOOD MORNING!" He chimed waking everyone else in the entire house, and possibly along the entire coastline up.

"I guess Luffy's awake" Usopp groaned as everyone else, with the exception of Zoro, lazily got to their feet.

"Guys, if anyone else wants to get home before they go to school you'll have to leave soon" I advised and started to leave.

"I hope you wouldn't mind if I accompanied you" Law stated, joining me at the door.

"Not at all, we can stop at your house too"

"That's not necessary, we may be late"

"Nonsense, we still have over two hours until we have to be at school"

"If you insist"

"Would anyone else care to join us?" I offered

"Might as well" Kid sauntered up to the door to meet us.

"Three's a crowd, Eustass"

"Then sit down, Trafalgar"

"Hey, now, what did I say about bickering?" I reminded and the two stopped "I really love this" I laughed to myself, having far too much fun with that, just a little power over them couldn't hurt, besides it was all in good fun, I couldn't ever dream of hurting either one of them, never, they were far too important to me.

"Oh, and guys, make sure Zoro isn't too hung over, that wouldn't be a good way for him to show up for school"

The three of us walked down to my house first seeing that it was the closest. I led them to the back door of my house since that was the closest to the basement and crept into the house, careful not to make a sound, I wouldn't want to risk waking Beverly up, she would not be in a pleasant mood. I walked them down the stairs to my room and began rummaging through my clothes.

"Now, you two wait out here, please be quiet, and try not to kill each other" I instructed before I left to quickly change in the connecting bathroom. I didn't even bother to put on makeup; I didn't want to leave them alone for too long. Though I loved them dearly, there was no telling what they'd do if they go bored, it wasn't so much that I was concerned with them actually murdering each other, more so that they'd like to see how close they could get to that.

"You look nice" Kid complimented before Law could, declaring that his victory of the day.

"Thank you Kid, now let's go, we don't want to waste any time; we still have to more stops to make." I motioned them up the stairs and out the door.

"Okay Law, show us the way" I directed, recalling that he had come the same way as I had when we walked home from Kid's house, which led me to believe that his house would be closer than Kid's.

He led down a few blocks, passed the park that Law had taken me the Friday before; I still wondered what that place meant to him, and why he wanted to take me, of all people, there; and to down the street until we came to his house.

"Do you guys want to wait outside, my house it pretty cramped and I don't want to wake anyone else up"

"What are you getting at Trafalg…?"

"That's fine" I jumped in. The kid wasn't very apt to sharing things, I guess letting us into his home was out of the question, I wasn't going to argue, it was far too early for that, nor did I want to put him in any position like that.

"Thanks" Law said as he disappeared through the door.

"Why don't you think Trafalgar wants us in his house?"

"It's not a big deal Kid"

"We let him into ours…"

"He's not very good at sharing things" I muttered "I'd just let him keep things that way"

"Whatever"

"Back so soon?" I questioned seeing that Law had already reemerged from inside his house.

He shrugged his shoulders and slung his black backpack over his shoulder.

"Okay, Kid, you're the last stop"

We back tacked all the way from Law's house back to the street e turned off when we left my house. We continued passed the school and down for another mile or two until we returned to Kids house.

"Are your parents home yet, Kid?"

"Not yet" he frowned

"I'm sorry" I murmured, I wondered how long it had been since they left. "You're going to be okay, Kid" I offered in consolation.

"Don't worry about me" He scowled "You've got enough shit to deal with yourself"

He led us into his house just the same as before, and left Law and I in his living room once again.

"What's taking him so long?"

"Law, be patient"

"It should never take a man that long to get ready." He shook his head

"We don't need to rush"

"Eustass, go easy on the makeup today, we're in a hurry" He banged on the bathroom door

"Shut the fuck up, Trafalgar"

"I'm just saying; the makeup isn't doing much for you…"

"Law, that's enough" I frowned giving him an I-told-you-to-leave-him-alone look.

"Let's go" Kid said and we wall took off for school.

We entered the orange brick building, which by now had become familiar to me and headed up the excessive flights of stairs.

Law and I continued up to our lockers on the third floor. "It feels like forever since we've had to do this" I admitted "it's hard to believe we were only at this school on Saturday, quite an eventful weekend, if I do say so myself" he nodded in agreement as I looked back at all that had happened since last Friday, Law and I had gotten much closer in those mere three days, it seemed that last week at this time he was just someone else to talk to, since we had a lot of classes together, but now he felt more like a friend, someone I could rely on, it was nice, I liked being able to say that about Law, he was a good kid, no matter what Kid said, he just needed someone to understand him, though opening up probably would have done him some good.

"Okay, well I'll see you later" He said and quickly hugged me for no apparent reason. I didn't know why, but it made me blush.

I walked through the mods of adolescents to get to the most wonderful place on earth,

Dr. Sakazuki's class. I walked into the dreary classroom and took my seat, the one pushed right up against his desk. I don't know why, but for some reason Dr. Sakazuki did not like me, and it seemed like he had decided that before he'd even met me, which quite possibly was what bothered me the most, maybe he was just like that with everyone, maybe he just hated all living things, he never really came across as someone who would actually like anyone or anything for that matter.

I slouched in my desk next to Ace and waited for another one of his ever enticing narrow-minded lectures.

"So, as you all may have heard, as of this morning the man who has been wreaking havoc in the New World, with the aid of his contraband, from a still unidentified source, Kaido of the Beasts, has just secured his spot as one of the Yonko, this good for nothing scum has been smuggling artificial devil fruits, specifically Zoan types, from, as previously mentioned, and unidentified source, now, for the first time since the time of Roger, all four seats have been filled, the Yonko now consist of Big Mom, Kaido, Cromwell, and Elba Bonaparte. Now, back to our conversation on Roger that filth that started this all. As I was saying, the man was the exact kind of demonic beast you would never hope to meet, he was a ruthless fool who cared for nothing and no one, he's a disgrace to his family's name, and will forever be branded as such"

Abruptly Ace stood up, threw the text book into the blackboard in the front, and stormed out of the room.

"Ace!" I called as I stood up from my seat

"Miss Emerson, sit back down, now!"

"I need to go and make sure he doesn't break anyone!" I hissed at the teacher "Ace, what the hell as gotten into, you've been starting fights for no reason, now this? I know that I haven't known you for that long but what's going on?"

"People, that's what the matter is!" He scowled as he punched straight through the wall of the school.

"Ace, you're really strong" I muttered shocked by the pure force he was able to eject. "Do you have devil fruit powers?"

"No" He stated coldly

"That's crazy, how the hell are you that strong?"

"Because" he frowned "I'm the son of a devil"

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry it took so long for me write this one, I just have to work on my scheduling. Anyways I decided to tie in some current One Piece events while I have a chance, and also found it as good a time as any for her to learn that Ace isn't Dragon's son, since she's been under that impression since she met them, also the other two Yonko I made up probably won't have any actual parts, I just needed four and since Shanks and Whitebeard decided to educate the youth of the Grand Line at this point in time I needed some substitutes, anyway, those two probably won't have much significance, but I haven't made up my mind, The name Cromwell comes from Oliver Cromwell, the British leader who fought in the side of the Roundheads in the English Civil War; if I remember correctly it was against King Charles I; nevertheless the old king was beheaded and Cromwell to the throne, then the British public were unhappy with his role, and he two was beheaded, isn't history fun! and Elba Bonaparte is pretty obviously a Napoleon reference, Napoleon Bonaparte was the short (though he was average height for a Frenchman at the time) Frenchman who initiated a coup d'état and became the emperor of France, he was later banished to Elba, where he made a small army and came back to France who readily allowed him to reenter, then after the Hundred Days, and defeat at Waterloo he was banished to Saint Helena where he died of what is believed to be Stomach Cancer, and the Monarchy was restored. History class is over now. Call me a nerd but I love history, especially French history, but have no idea why; and I really do love making historical references in my writing, I just feel it adds something to the story, and also eliminates me having to make up a bunch of random names that could never sound as good as that of real people.

Sorry if this chapter may be formatted differently I typed it for the most part on a school computer and they use a different program than I use at home, I'm not sure it it's going to effect it all but maybe it did.

I'll probably be posting the next chapter on Saturday

I don't own any piece of One Piece. =)


	24. Chapter 24: The New Emperor

I stood there completely addled by what he had said "What are you talking about, Ace? I know that Dragon isn't thought of too fondly by the World Government, and I know he's hasn't been here for you guys but that doesn't mean…"

"Dragon isn't my father"

"But you and Luffy are brothers and Coach Garp said that Luffy got all of Dragon's bad qualities"

"Luffy and I aren't really brothers. Monkey D. Luffy, Portgas D. Ace, we've lived together since we were kids, I consider him my brother"

"Really, but you two look so much alike"

"Coincidence I suppose"

"Then who is your real father?"

"The man everyone called a demon, the most feared man in the world, even in death, is name still feared on the seas, he who they call the King of the Pirates." Ace cringed.

"Are you saying that Gol D. Roger is your father?" I stuttered, not sure what to think that this point, I never would have even remotely guessed that the pirate king had a son. "Does the government know about this, you could be in serious danger if they found out?" I was all of a sudden worried as I grasped the importance of that little detail.

"I don't know, but I would think someone has to know, that is unless Gramps can keep his mouth shut, which I wouldn't put my money on. I'm just the son of a demon, that's all I can ever be in the eyes of most, already branded by his atrocious name since I was born, if Roger ever had a child, he's surely be an evil menace to society who should never have been born and doesn't deserve to live. That's what they all say."

"Is that why you kept picking fights with so many people, Ace, because they were badmouthing Roger?"

"No, I couldn't care less what they say about him, it's just that they associate me along with him, I never even knew him, how can they pin me alongside him?"

"I don't know, it's just a name after all, but you have a lot of respect for your father, don't you Ace"

"No, I owe him nothing, he didn't give me anything, I never asked to his son, I didn't even take his name, I took the name of my late mother, for her sacrifice I feel that's the least I could do to honor her."

"You're different"

"What?"

"From Roger, at least the Roger I've read about, but I can see you do have some level of respect for him, he is your father after all."

"I already said, that doesn't mean anything"

"But it does, I can't tell you what I'd do just to know who my parents are, no matter how much hatred I have for them for abandoning me and leaving me with that woman, acts which I cannot possibly forgive, I'd still respect them, they're my parents after all. No matter what a parent does, how awful, cruel, unjust, or wrong, there is always something of which their spawn will find redeemable."

"I can't say there is, my father knew very well he wouldn't be there for me, he put my mother in a place of grave danger, she died because of that, and you, you don't even know who your parents are, for all you know they could be the exact people you hate, you can't just go and say things like that!"

"That all may be true, and I'd love to ask them why they left me, and I'm sure there are a lot of things you'd want to ask your mother and father both, but I just say, maybe it was supposed to be like that. Think about it this way, you probably wouldn't have met Luffy had your father been anyone else, and my parents if they had been there for me I doubt that I'd have been here, but who knows, you can't change the past but you can decide your own future"

Ace didn't respond, he looked off into space as if he had been searching for something else.

"Now, I'd suggest we get out of here before we get in trouble for property damage, this school doesn't take misbehavior lightly, so I've found out" I suggested

"What do you mean?" he cocked his head with a puzzled grin on his face.

"You put a fucking hole in the wall Freckle-Face!"

"I thought I told you to watch your language"

"And I thought I told you to watch your temper"

"Fair enough" he smirked "Think Sakazuki will suspect anything?"

"Yes, yes I do" I teased and we walked innocently back into the classroom

"Protgas D. Ace, Emerson D. Virginia, if you two continue to disrupt my class I will have to write you up for misconduct, I would like to speak with the both of you after class"

"Yes sir" I feigned respect for him, not wanting to spend another Saturday in detention with the oh so forgiving Sir Crocodile.

After the bell sounded the rest of the students proceeded to their second period class while Ace and I remained in our seats awaiting another lecture from Dr. Sakazuki about how we were no good, rotten, worthless wastes of human space, and how we had no respect and whatever other flaw he could manage to spew from his chauvinistic mouth.

"First off, it is incredibly disruptive and not to mention rude…"

"_And here it comes_" I rolled my eyes, busying myself by counting the number of colored tiles on the floor, which came out to be 461.

"…for you to just get up and abruptly leave in the middle of my class, other than for an immediate emergency, and even so it would be best if you could give me some sort of warning. Whatever the reason was for your exit today I do not know, nor do I care and I do not intend on losing any sleep over the matter. Because I am fair, I will let you go with nothing more than a warning, this time, since the exit was only brief, but if either of you ever pull anything like that again without a good reason, or first notifying my of your exit, I will be forced to write you up. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir" I responded without making any contact with his beady eyes.

"Very well then, dismissed"

I hurried up to the fourth floor for math class, there was no point in asking him for a pass, he'd only laugh and say no, which would have only wasted more of the time I didn't have to spare.

"Somebody was behind schedule today" Law smirked, usually I was their shortly before, or just after he got there, and always before Kid.

"I'm a busy person" I shrugged

Mr. Smoker began his usual lesson; he began today with the next unit on Imaginary Numbers. "Great, as if math wasn't already meaningless enough as it is" I thought, I was briefly introduced to the concept at Ember, but we didn't spend too much time on it, it didn't seem too difficult from what I had learned, but I still wasn't sure exactly to what lengths it would be taken.

"There are fucking imaginary numbers too" Kid complained after we had left the class, "whose bright idea was that?"

"The Oharans" I smirked at the clearly rhetorical question "They don't call it the Tree of Knowledge for nothing, you know"

"Stop knowing things" Kid said flatly, unenthused by my answer.

"Come on Kid, I'm just trying to educate you" I taunted and mussed up his already tangled hair "I'll see you later" I waved as I headed down the stairs for Language Arts.

Throughout the whole class we were to work on our poetry book project.

"So, I see you've sobered up Zoro" I derided "I couldn't say I was expecting to see you here today"

"Very funny, I'll have you know that I wasn't **that **drunk"

"Really, because you seemed pretty out of it this morning"

"I was only sleeping" he persisted

"Whatever you say, Zoro, whatever you say."

The class continued with Usopp preaching one of his fantastic tales of his many great endeavors on the Grand Line, and the latest group of opponents he so bravely defeated. The boy was great at spinning tales, there was no question about that, but the poor thing would be scared of his own shadow, if it snuck up on him.

Usopp and I walked up to physics together as we would normally do, the walks became increasingly awkward since Usopp was still not accepting of the fact that I had formed friendships with some of his fearsome peers, namely Eustass Kid and Trafalgar Law, and he knew I still hadn't forgiven him for making Law cry, though he didn't know that, and I wasn't about to tell him, I cleverly would talk around it using terms like 'upset' or 'hurt the feelings of' I thought that sounded a little better, didn't degrade Law, but still showed Usopp I was not pleased with him.

"You need to be more accepting of others. I'm not going to ask you to run up and trust everyone like Luffy would, because yes, the strange man who offers you candy probably isn't a good person, and I'd hope you can see that, but just because someone looks or acts a certain way doesn't mean much of who they really are"

"Virginia, I told you, I just don't trust them, and I want to look out for your safety and…"

"No, Usopp, that's not it"

"I told you I was sorry"

"You don't need to tell me that"

"Then why are you still mad?"

"You need to apologize to Law"

"No, no, no, can't you just tell him for me?"

"You don't need to be scared, and besides, it's your fault"

"I don't like that idea"

"Come on Usopp, for me" I batted my eyelashes "I'll go with you, I won't make you go alone, and if he tries to kill you, which he won't, I'll be there to stop him" I explained calmly

"Oh, alright" He conceited regretfully and we walked up to the physics lab.

After physics had ended Robin and I walked down the world history. "Class, I am sure you've all heard the news by now, that the last seat in the Yonko has been filled" Mr. Newgate began "The pirate by the name of Kaido secured the spot as of last night. This means that for the first time since the time of Roger, there is balance on the scale between the pirates and the marines, however, as I am sure the better part of you can assume, this does by no mean there will be peace in the New World, quite the opposite, if history will tell us anything. Though now that there is no open spot the competition for the previously open seat cuts down since no one is imprudent enough to take on an Emperor, especially one who is known to be as barbaric as Kaido, and if one does their research they would know that he has many powerful figures working under him which allow him to continue with his crimes known all throughout the Underground."

"Kaido…" Law muttered in an intrigued voice.

I had heard of Kaido before, no more than three years ago he was just a rookie with a crazy dream who set out to sea. I hadn't paid much attention to him, there are hundreds of rookie pirates every year who challenge the government and conquer the first half of the Grand Line, but once they get to the New World they learn that just because they have a devil fruit, just because they can use haki, just because they were strong before, and just because they made it this far doesn't mean they are anything special, most of them are gone before they could even set their sights on a Yonko. I guess it all depends on who you get yourself involved with, there are some pretty powerful people on the seas these days, and you have to do something right, plan every move carefully if you want to survive in the New World.

I had only heard rumors about Kaido's illegal underground dealings, I had read about something called SMILE, it appeared there wasn't too much known about it in the first place, all that I knew was that it was Kaido's contraband which allowed him to create artificial Zoan type devil fruits, and therefore use them as an army, which made him quite a fearsome opponent, it was no wonder he was able to take the remaining seat in the Yonko so easily. The idea to make artificial devil fruits was originally tried by Dr. Vegapunk, but it was never perfected and he abandoned the project, no one knows who, then, was able to achieve it, or the possible risks of consuming an artificial devil fruit, but whatever those risks, or potential benefits were all we know for sure is that Kaido was able to utilize them and along with their help he was able to gain himself the next best thing to finding the One Piece and becoming the King of the Pirates, being a part of the Yonko, it allowed you to get away with almost anything, since no other pirate was willing to challenge you, and the government did not want to have to deal with a problem such as having to fight a Yonko, not only were the outrageously powerful, but they were known for making large alliances with other pirate crews, making going to war with even just one, an event that would affect the entire world. Whatever Kaido was really doing and how he was able to acquire the SMILE was still a mystery, but I knew that there had to be more information out there that someone wasn't saying, I wondered what secrets the government might be hiding on the matter. Whatever it was I was determined to find out more.

"LUNCH TIME!" Luffy's usual call sounded as the bell rang cuing us all to leave.

* * *

**A/N: **What, Akainu not enacting the severest of punishment onto his students, whom he hates with all his heart, because you know hating children and reaching just go hand in hand.

I'm pretty sure the ancient Greeks discovered Imaginary numbers, or at least they're credited with it, but Greece doesn't exist, so the next best thing: Ohara, made sense to me.

And so everyone's happy Virginia will finally force Usopp to apologize for making Law cry! Yay! I couldn't resist, I'll be adding that in the next chapter most likely. (anyone catch my little Caesar Clown reference?

I finally got to make up my little past for Kaido, I'll probably go a bit more into depth about his exploits in the future.

I don't own One Piece.


	25. Chapter 25: Keep Your Enemies Closer

We all walked down to the cafeteria for lunch, I spotted Law sitting alone in his usual place.

"No friends today?" I asked jocularly

"No, they went to the computer lab"

"Then why don't you come and sit with us, it's no fun being alone"

"No, it's alright, I'm used to it"

"Nonsense, remember what I told you" I said as I motioned him to follow.

He groaned a bit, but followed anyway. "Usopp…" I started after we sat down "isn't there something you want to say to Law?"

"Oh, hey, it's that Tra-guy!" Luffy observed "are you going to be sitting with us from now on?"

"No" Law responded bluntly

"Oh, okay then" Luffy laughed, just about any response would have satisfied the naïve boy.

"And Luffy, his name is…oh never mind" I decided not to go through the hassle, which would have been meaningless anyway, since the odds of Luffy remembering anyone's name was less likely than getting cotton candy away from Chopper.

"So, Usopp..." I began "Isn't there something you'd like to say to Law?"

"Nope, don't think so" He replied after taking a good, long look at Law.

"Oh really" I grabbed his shoulder and pushed down with whatever little force I was willing to apply.

"Ouch! Okay, okay, stop it, it's degrading" Usopp complained "I'm sorry" he muttered almost inaudibly

"What was that?"

"Ouch! I'm sorry! There I said it! Happy?"

"Quite" I replied contented voice. "Law?" He just shrugged his shoulders, I knew it probably didn't mean too much to him, but it was the principle that mattered.

After lunch we wandered over to study hall with Sir 'I hate everything and everyone' Crocodile, in which we resumed our usual routine of absolute silence. My mind stayed focused on the recently transpired events in the New World, I didn't like Kaido's means of acquiring his new position as an Emperor. Yes all piracy is a crime in the eyes of the government, so maybe it was just the pot calling the kettle black, but I didn't like it nonetheless, and if it continued these SMILE's could have the potential to wreak havoc throughout the entire Grand Line. Everything I knew about SMILE was what I had been told by Roslind, she had researched them at a time, and was intrigued by the ability; however, she often stated that they would come with heavy risks, aside from the normal risks already coupled with a devil fruit.

_"The only way to gain more information on the matter would be to go and look for it",_ I decided that the best place to start would be the files under the stage, or, our headquarters, as Luffy liked to refer to it. As soon as study hall ended I headed straight for the auditorium.

"And where do you think you're going" Law asked

"To look for more information on Kaido" I replied frankly

"Skipping class are we? Well, that's not the upstanding character we are supposed to believe you are, now is it?"

"Maybe not, but there are more important things in this school for me to learn than Spanish with Mr. Donquixote"

"Where do you intend on going for that?"

"The auditorium" I mumbled

"Why, what's there?"

"Come on, I'll show you, if you think you can spare a day without Spanish, lord knows you need all the help you can get in that department" I sneered

"Hey, watch it miss" He narrowed his eyes

"Don't worry I'll help you"

"I'll have to think about that one"

"Alright then, shall we" I smiled as we walked down through the tunnel to the auditorium.

"Now, where is this all important information held?"

"Underneath the stage" I pointed to the door, he raised his eyebrow

"How exactly did you find this?"

"I'm a curious person by nature, I can't say that's always a good thing, but I found this so it can't always be a bad thing, you can go in" I gestured to the room under the stage.

"These are a bunch of past school records, those are more just for my entertainment should I ever get bored, my main concern are the government files"

"What are government files doing here?"

"I don't know why, but for whatever reason the World Government felt it was a good idea to store their secrets in the schools they built, I guess they never expected some curious fool to come along and discover them, I found some at Ember too, some of them are about incidents the government had covered up, others about secret projects, and of course you'll inevitably run across the coded notes the admirals send each other, I still have no idea what they mean, I'm sure they're just scrapped battle plans or something"

"Well, that's new"

"I guess" I shrugged "but their loss is my gain, all of this information brings me closer to accomplishing my goal, you know what they say_ 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'"_

"And which would I be, since I see you seeking information on me"

"I think you already know that, mister, I wouldn't have let up any of my secrets, now would I?"

"I know" he said as he placed his hand on my back "I was only kidding"

I began thumbing through the files to try to find anything even moderately related to Kaido, or artificial Zoan devil fruits, or even any records by Dr. Vegapunk on the subject, though he never perfected it, at least he attempted, he should have a decent amount of knowledge on the issue.

"Found anything yet?"

"No, unless you want to read about the open seat in the Yonko that Kaido filled, it may be worth reading about how the balance of power has shifted out of the hands of the World Government now that there are once again four emperors, seven warlords, and the marines"

"That's not going to help us find out anything on Kaido"

"Us, since when are you interested in this kind of stuff?"

"Might as well" he shrugged

"Good, I thought I was the only unusual one who decided to involve myself in things way beyond myself" I laughed

"Is there anything else?"

"Not too much, this place doesn't look like it's been used in recent years, I guess Kaido wasn't making headlines back then, maybe something on the artificial devil fruits, that may at least give us a hint at Kaido's strength"

"They're all Zoan, right?"

"Yes, at least that's what the reports say, who knows what else they've been hiding"

"Well, here's something about Zoan-type devil fruits, maybe it'll be helpful"

"Let's see, okay, Zoan-types allow you to morph into an animal, blah, blah, blah, different transformations, this is interesting"

"What?"

"It says that objects can eat a zoan-type devil fruit and use it to turn into said animal, that can be fairly effective"

"How?"

"I don't know, it doesn't say, I'd bet you that it can be linked to Dr. Vegapunk though, he's the devil fruit expert."

"Does it have anything at all about artificial devil fruits?"

"Easy, calm down, I'm getting there, okay, there are different classes beyond the already wide array of possibilities with all the various different species and sub-species of animals out there, there are also the Mythical Zoan, which are said to be the most rare devil fruit, and rightfully so, I've never even heard of one being used I bet that'd be cool, Carnivorous Zoan, I guess those are just more violent, isn't that lovely, and Bug-type Zoan, well, that doesn't sound very effective, there's also the Ancient Zoan I guess that's just an extinct animal, what like a trilobite, a lung fish, I'd love to see that"

"Artificial Zoan?"

"Calm down, I'm getting there; I'm getting there, what's got you in such a rush this fine Monday afternoon?"

"I just want to learn about Kaido" he said innocently

"Why are you so interested?"

"He's easily took a seat in the Yonko, why wouldn't that be interesting"

"True"

"And you, one who plans to set out to the sea should especially be interested in this"

"Law, be honest, do you want out to sea?"

"I've already told you…"

"You said people here needed your help, but let's forget about that for a moment, if you could, would you?"

"In a heartbeat, it's always been a dream of mine since I was a kid, of course that didn't come without ridicule from my older brothers, but now I have even more of a reason to oppose the government"

"Really, then I'll help you"

"What?"

"If you ever need any help, don't be afraid to ask me, like I said, I'll always be there for you"

"I can't ask you for that much"

"Whatever little I can do to help, I'd be willing to do"

"Thank you, but I just can't ask that of you" he sighed as he pulled me closer to him "Okay, so, what does it say about artificial devil fruits?"

"Oh, uh, okay, it says they were first attempted by Dr. Vegapunk, but after several failures he abandoned the idea and returned to studying the effects of a natural devil fruit on an average user, but then years later, a colleague of his found a method which 'perfected' it, though it is unknown whether or not he actually did, but nevertheless he is most likely the supplier and creator of these devil fruits, and it only mentioned artificial devil fruits of the Zoan type being successful, it states that others were attempted but where never even able to take form, unfortunately it makes no mention to this person's name, nor where they may be right now, so either the government's in the dark on the subject too, or they have been really careful to keep this mum"

"Is there anything else?"

"No, that's it, I guess the majority of this is new information, I'll have to consult my other sources to do any further readings"

"Well, then I guess that's all we can gather for today"

"Hmm, what's this?"

"What, is it relevant?"

"No, it doesn't concern this, it's just interesting; it's an old news story from the East Blue, apparently they covered up yet another murder committed by the Celestial Dragons"

"What does it say?"

"It talks about a boy who was presumably killed, though his body was never found, when his ship was passing by a ship that a Celestial Dragon was sailing aboard. It seemed that the noble was upset that a commoner would have the audacity to sail past his ship, so he sunk it, they say that the ship was also flying a pirate flag, however it was far too small to be a pirate ship, and an eyewitness said that he saw one blond-haired boy on board, but again, no body was ever discovered of that boy, let alone if there happened to be others aboard the ship as well. Because there was an eyewitness report they did create a composite sketch, he appeared to be nine or ten, had blond hair and a missing tooth, however no one came forth to identify the boy as their own, and rightfully so, the islanders were nobles, if it got out that one of their sons angered a Celestial Dragons, there would have been hell to pay, so he was reported dead, but still remains a John Doe, isn't that strange, I wonder who that boy is?"

* * *

**A/N: **Hmm, skipping class, that's not good, Law and Virginia, especially if you'd looking up government secrets, you don't need to get yourselves into anymore trouble!

Gee, I wonder who that blond boy is, teehee, as if I didn't make in completely obvious enough already.

I'll try to post the next chapter in the next couple of days.

I do not own One Piece.


	26. Chapter 26: Unwritten History

"A son of a noble no doubt" I stated still pondering on the subject.

"You think so? A noble's son running away from home to live the life of a pirate, that's a new one"

"Maybe so, but those kids face a tremendous amount of pressure, their parents want them to be perfect, they must act with the utmost dignity and respect, they always must be concerned about how others are going to view them. Most kids are taught that as the normal from a young age, but others, I'm sure, still wouldn't accept it. I'm sure that's how this kid felt, isolated, controlled, powerless, those kids, they aren't allowed any freedom, they have to learn proper etiquette, they aren't allowed to associate with anyone deemed less than them. Just imagine, not being allowed to choose your own friends, or even marry who you want, I guess that's just how they live, and if their raised that way I guess most don't mind, at least that's what I got from those kids I went to school with, none of them seemed to care about their lack of independence." I recollected the many conversations that the students at Ember had on the subject, most of the students were from the nobility who lived on the other side of our town, us 'average folk' didn't have much contact with them. "I wonder what became of the kid"

"Probably died, just because they never found his body doesn't mean he's alive"

"Must you be so negative?"

"I'm just being honest, and look here; they admit that they didn't even bother checking the same day they were too busy by the Celestial Dragon's visit"

"Hmph" I stared at the paper, as if I'd find and answer there

"They do this kind of thing all the time, they have the power to do whatever they want, that's just the way it is, don't let it get to you."

He was right, they did do this kind of thing all the time, the lives of others meant nothing to the Celestial Dragons "I don't like it" I murmured, hugging my knees into my chest and placing my chin against my knee "that's not how the world should work"

"That's just how the world is, and has been for centuries, no one has the power to change it, you'd have to go to war with the entire world to do that, no one's senseless enough to do that"

"Would it be worth it" I muttered under my breath

"What?"

"N-nothing, we should probably go, the bell's going to be ringing soon"

"Has it been that long?"

"I would think so"

We crouched through the door under the stage and started to leave the auditorium to go to the art studio just as the bell rang

"You two are here awfully early" Shanks commented as he walked into the auditorium

"We're having class in here today?"

"Yes, isn't that why you're here?"

"Uh, yes, but why?"

"We're starting our performing arts unit"

"Oh, so we're going to have to be acting?"

"Yes, eventually"

"Okay" I sighed

"You two can sit down wherever you want to wait for the rest of the class to get here." Shanks directed us to the rows of seats "Try to stay in the middle section in the first few rows, okay?"

We filed into the second row of seats, and I sank into my seat "Something that matter?" Law asked

"I'm not a big fan of acting in front of people"

"Glossophobia?"

"Maybe?" I questioned my response, not perfectly sure what that meant

"Fear of public speaking, stage fright?"

"Erm, I guess"

"Really, you seemed to be fine as a cheerleader, did you secretly enjoy it?"

"No I said coldly and I narrowed my eyes at him, telling him to never say that again "It's not like they were exactly watching me, there were other girls and a game going on, odds are nobody was even watching me, well other than my friends, but that's okay, I know them"

"Then this ought to be quite interesting, shouldn't it?"

"Hey!"

"Don't worry, you'll be fine"

"Thanks" I replied in a half sarcastic voice.

The rest of the class finally entered the auditorium, with the school being so large just getting to your next class was a challenge enough, let alone having to relocate for wherever class is being held that day.

"Trafalgar" Killer grunted in such a way that it was obvious that under his mask he was glaring at Law "what are you doing here?"

"Going to class" he responded in his habitual snarky tone, allowing his usual smirk to cross over his face. Killer didn't find Law's sarcasm amusing in the slightest. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Okay class, settle down" Shanks began "As you can plainly see, we've had yet another change of scenery. We're beginning our performing arts unit today. We will kick off the unit by focusing our attention on the different types of theatrical performances, then we will get into the actual stage work, the first project will be for each of you to deliver a monologue, it can be about anything you want, and as long or as short as you'd like"

"_Great, just what I need"_ I thought _"everyone watching me" _I imagined everyone's eyes staring up at me, that was the worst part, not the actual act of speaking in front of people, but the way I'd feel when they'd all be paying full attention to me.

"So, shall we begin discussing the history of theatre?" Shanks asked "Alright then, so, as I am sure you are all familiar with it; theatre has been a pastime all over the world for centuries, it's unsure of its exact origin but it's something that we've seen done for entertainment purposes since the dawn of written history, however these didn't become major theatrical events until much later in our history" Shanks continued on with his lecture until the end of the class period and Law and I walked up to biology.

"It's too bad that we're already all the way over here and are going to have to come back this way next period" I complained

"I guess you have to take what you can get, we didn't have to walk to the studio today; so we have to backtrack a little" Law rationalized

"I guess; what are we even doing today?"

"Circulatory system"

"My guess is that the doctor already knows all of this stuff, right?"

Law shrugged, refraining from saying "yes, of course I do"

Once in class, Mr. Mihawk started his usual routine of having us fill out worksheets that diagram whatever it was we were learning about, which, of course, Law was able to do without even consulting the textbook, or any diagram or model in the classroom, it made me wonder how he had learned all of this already.

"Tomorrow" Mr. Mihawk began just before the bell rang "We will be lecturing, so be sure to have your notes, dismissed"

Law and I made the trek back to where we had been not even an hour before, and to the gym building for another exciting day of football with Coach Garp.

"Are you still being bothered by the John Doe?"

"Of course" I scoffed "The damn Celestial Dragons, they can get away with anything even the murder of a child."

"It's their world, and we're just the unfortunate byproducts that have to live in it with them."

"He could have survived, right?"

"Whatever you need to believe, but it'd be incredibly unlikely"

"But it's possible?"

"I guess, but you saw all the damage caused, he'd have to have a lot of strength and will power to survive, or at least a decent amount of luck"

"I wonder how many more there've been, innocent casualties, done in by their hands"

"Many"

"You didn't have to tell me the truth!" I pouted at his overly blunt honesty, it definitely wasn't the most positive of qualities, sometimes it could be misconstrued as rudeness, but it was absolutely comfortingly Law, I wouldn't have changed it even if I could have.

"Ready for another exciting day of football" he changed the subject

"Oh yes as if I don't get enough of that as it is" I moped and we continued down to the gym building. We met again in the main gym and walked to the field beside the school.

Coach Garp commenced his normal habit of torturing the students through the various 'warm-ups' and 'practices' he had concocted, which were all done before the actual game began. One done Coach Garp would throw us into five teams; one team would be up against him alone, while the other four faced each other.

After the games concluded Robin and I walked back to the locker room together as we usually did.

"No practice today" She smiled

"Yeah" I faked enthusiasm, as my head was still stuck on the article Law and I had found.

"Is something the matter?"

"No, no, it's alright"

"Are you sure, you seem somewhat tense"

"It's just something I read"

"Really, what was it about?"

"Just another horrific crime against the citizens committed by the Celestial Dragons, I want to know who gave them so much power anyway"

"That's what I want to find out, however they gained all this power, and formed the World Government all must have happened during the Void Century."

"The Void Century, I've heard of that before, didn't the World Government make it illegal to study, and isn't that what caused the Ohara Incident?"

"Why yes, they we're silenced for their crimes by the practice of the government's policy of absolute justice, but it's my dream to find out what occurred, and why the government would go to such lengths to keep it a secret."

"Robin, does that mean you can decipher the Poneglyphs?" She nodded "Then you survived a Buster Call, is that even possible that's the government's most extreme manner of enforcing their so called justice, the entire point is to annihilate an entire location, that means no one, not even the innocent are supposed to escape."

"My mother was one of the scholars who studied the Void Century, I learned after her, it's been my goal ever since then, and I am determined to find out what happened."

"So then the history isn't exactly unwritten, people just can't decipher it, correct?"

"Yes, it's written in an ancient language, and that keeps people from being able to read what's on the Poneglyphs, are you familiar with them?"

"I've heard of them, but I'm no expert"

"Well, the Poneglyphs are scattered all throughout the Grand Line, they either are left as clues as to the location of other Poneglyphs or they themselves contain information on the true history, you see, they are all like individual pieces of a puzzle, but, like a puzzle you can only see the entire picture once it's complete, and that's the only way that the true history can ever be learned."

"I see, I wonder what happened, it has to be something very significant if the government would go through such lengths to cover it up, I wonder if there'd be any information on any of their locations in some of the files at this school"

"There may be, that's why I was rather intrigued by the place you found, it seems most of the files there have been tucked away for years, and you claim that they are filled with information on the World Government, correct"

"Yes, I found then both here and at Ember, today I went looking for more information on Kaido, no such luck, I only was able to gain a little insight on the artificial Zoan's he's been using, but I did uncover a rather interesting article"

"Really"

"Yeah, it was about a young child who was murdered by the Celestial Dragons, it must have taken place years ago, I can show you if you'd like to go researching after we get out of here"

"Alright, but we should get the others, it'd be unfair to have a meeting without the rest of our crew"

We met up with the others outside of the school and proposed our idea

"We were planning on investigating the files in our headquarters today after school, are you guys alright with that?"

"I can't" Zoro objected

"Why, playing swords with that girl again?" Sanji snickered

"We're not playing we're training!" Zoro barked back

"I just don't understand it, Tashigi's such a pretty girl; I don't understand why she'd want to spend her time with you, Moss-Head"

"Shut up, I said to leave it alone!"

"Stop fighting you idiots!" Nami jumped in to settle the fight

"Sorry, Nami-san" Sanji sulked

"Then why don't we all meet during lunch, since it's the only other time during the day that we'd all be able to get together"

"We'll still be able to eat right?" Luffy clarified

"Of course"

"Then it's a great plan!"

* * *

**A/N: **So I had a little fun with this chapter, it's mainly just to explain some stuff and further and set some other stuff up. Sorry this took so long, blame my freaking school. But, I have already gotten a jump on 27, should be up tomorrow, earlier. I usually try not to post this late, but it's been so long since my last post I wasn't going to save it until tomorrow. Poneglyphs are fun but they don't serve too much of an importance (right now, I promise I do have a plan as to why they were seemingly randomly brought up) but right now Robin's past only served as a reason to get Ace and Luffy to see the article and blah blah blah, you probably get the point.

I don't own One Piece.


	27. Chapter 27: What the Future Holds

I walked up the stairs to my third floor locker in quite a hurry; the sky had grown dark and the air had cooled to what was typical of a late autumn day on this island and deep grey clouds consumed the azure sky. Though my walk home wasn't particularly long there was still a rather high possibility that the sky would open up before then. It seemed like a different day from that of the early morning, it had been warm and pleasant, the sun was bright and the sky was clear without even as much as a mere haze. Such dramatic weather changes were not uncommon for the Grand Line and storms were usually short and any real danger, more often than not, happened on the ocean itself, it was rare for an island to be devastated by any phenomenon caused by the obscure weather. However, that did not mean that strong waves were not a threat and that possible precipitation never occurred.

I usually enjoyed the rain and the grey skies it brought, it was rather calming, but I had no intention of getting rained on today. I hurried back down the stairs to leave the school. As soon as I got through the door a cool breeze blew my hair back off of my shoulders. "I'll have to hurry" I told myself as I grasped my shoulders from the cold air and walked down the steps of the school. My mind was stuck between the John Doe and The Void Century, all these things the government kept secret, all the cover ups and the hypocrisy, the lies and the injustices, all put forth by that corrupt organization for the sake of 'justice'.

"I see that it's still bothering you, isn't it?" Law remarked as he accompanied me at the foot of the stairs. I sighed, making no attempt to respond verbally "hey, it's alright, don't let it bother you" he said putting his arm around me.

"But everything's not alright" I frowned "have you seen this world we live in lately?"

"Now what kind of talk is that? Aren't you supposed to be the positive one?" I shrugged, again not making any attempt to speak "I don't want to see you upset like that" he chuckled as he pulled me closer to him "I'm no good at comforting people, don't make me try to, because it's not going to work" I smiled, but still was not apt to conversing "you can't fix everything in the world, but if it's any consolation you've changed my life"

An embarrassed smile spread across my face "don't be sappy" I scolded playfully and he mussed my hair "don't insult my shortness" I glared up at him.

"Genetics my dear friend" he smirked

"Don't try at use your intelligence against me; have you forgotten who's been tutoring who?"

He held his hands up defensively, still maintaining the smirk on his face "that doesn't make me an idiot, ma'am"

"I never said that, I know you're incredibly smart, you just weren't trying, I can tell you understand this stuff, especially science, you want to be a doctor, right?"

"Yeah"

"Hmm, Dr. Trafalgar, that's got a nice ring to it" I giggled

"Whatever you like, ma'am" he flashed his still sad looking grey eyes

"But no matter what, remember, I'll always have you beat in Spanish"

"I'm fairly certain that it is more beneficial to society to be able to cure diseases and perform surgery than be able to talk with a larger percentage of the population" he argued

"It's useless to have any sort of medical skill if you can't communicate with you patients" I bit back.

He narrowed his eyes "Then you can be my secretary"

"Excuse me? Me, work under you, I don't think so"

"I'm not above forcing you, ma'am" He continued bringing his face closer to mine, and looking straight into my eyes.

"And please, do tell, what gives you that authority, Dr. Trafalgar?" I prolonged the utterly pointless argument, not breaking the eye contact.

"Why, I do" before I could retort that notion I felt a few icy droplets strike my skin I pulled away from Law hastily

"Dammit, it's already raining" I stated the complete obvious, blocking the rain, which seemed to only be getting stronger, from my eyes.

"Here" Law said placing his trademark hat on my head

"Law, no…I"

"If you get wet, you'll get cold; if you get cold, you'll get sick"

"So will you, you're only human too"

"Better me than you"

"But…"

"Come on, I'll walk you home" he offered and began walking.

The rain picked up to such a point that I could barely see anything around me, if I hadn't lived in the same neighborhood for my entire life it would have made it difficult to find the right house. I took Law's hand out of fear of completely losing sight.

We finally reached my house, completely soaked though our clothes from being caught in the torrential downpour "I should be on my way then" He said as I opened the door to my house

"No, come in" I offered brushing a few strands of his dark, soaking wet hair out of his eyes.

"Sorry to intrude" he apologized

"You said it yourself, you'll get wet, you'll get cold and you'll get sick, now come with me, I'm sorry we have to go to the basement, it's probably colder down there, but Beverly hates when I bring guys home, hell, she hates when I bring myself home, but don't worry, I'll get you some towels" I explained and we walked down to the basement "I'm sorry , but I don't have any dry clothes for you, so you'll be stuck in those, unless of course you'd like a pink skirt and white tank top" I laughed and grabbed some towels in a futile attempt to dry off "though you'd probably look rather nice pink" I giggled and proceeded to dry his hair with one of the towels

"Is that what you think about, the alterations you can make to my wardrobe?" he smirked and tried to push the towel away "and I can handle that myself" he growled yanking the arms down forcing me to release my hold on the towel that had been mussing up his hair.

"Oh, here's your hat back; I'm not so sure you should wear it though, it's kind of soaking wet" I laughed and placed his hat off to the side. "Thanks" I whispered, noticing my fairly dry hair in comparison to his.

"Never mind it, it looked nice on you anyway" he teased. I narrowed my eyes and him, trying not to laugh, and threw a towel at him.

I draped another towel over his shoulders "Do you want some tea, or coffee or anything?"

"No, no, I don't want to be a burden, and I'm used to that cold"

"What do you mean?"

"I was born in the North Blue, we moved here when I was only about four, but I remember everyday so vividly, the snow-covered landscape, the short days, the feeling of the cold air against my skin, everything was so perfect back then, I loved everything about it. I would spend all day outside playing in the snow, my mom would make us homemade hot chocolate with marshmallows when we'd come back inside, I've always wanted to go back there someday." He reminisced

"Then why don't you?"

"Nah, it's just a crazy dream, my home's here now, I need to remember that"

"You should go back especially if it would make you happy"

"Hmm, I guess we'll see how the future goes, for now, there's no sense in thinking about the past"

I shrugged my shoulders "I guess"

"On the same subject, where are you from, have you ever wanted to go back?"

"Actually, I've lived here for my entire life, this house used to belong to my parents, they gave it to Beverly after they skipped town; this is the only place I've ever really known"

"Really, so you've never left this island?"

"No, not that I can remember"

"Well, then I'll have to take you to the North Blue with me, before you and that self-proclaimed pirate crew of yours set out on the Grand Line"

I laughed and sat down beside him "I'd love to, then you can show me all the places you used to go when you were a kid"

"We'll see" He said smugly

"So, do you want some hot chocolate with marshmallows" he raised his eyebrow in his typical fashion "it probably won't be as good as what you've had before but I'll make it however you'd like"

"Can you add cinnamon" he asked quietly

Slightly confused I responded "I can add cinnamon" I grinned and brought him up to the kitchen. I pulled out the ingredients and turned on the stove. I poured milk into a pot and melted the chocolate "I haven't made this in a while, I'm sorry if it's not great"

He shrugged "I'm sure it's fine, you didn't have to go through all the trouble in the first place"

"No, no trouble at all" I ran my fingers through his slightly damp hair and set out two mugs for us. I poured the milk and chocolate mixture into the mugs and stirred in the cinnamon, which Law seemed to like. If I hadn't been cooking for myself since I was old enough to oppose authority I probably wouldn't have known how to even keep the various spices, but being that I had, I liked to keep the kitchen neat and versatile, which was beneficial whenever we had company over, we never had company over, but sometimes I'd cook for Beverly's boyfriends. The woman had about as much skill in the kitchen as a blind raccoon, and I didn't want her to poison the poor dumb bastards, it just wasn't entertaining anymore.

"Here you go" I said as I placed the bag of marshmallows on the table in front of us "use as many as you'd like" he dropped a few marshmallows into the mug and raised it to his lips. I sat that moronically stirring my hot chocolate admiring Law's sudden innocence. "Good?" I asked and he nodded in return. "Alright, then let's go back down stairs, I don't think you want to be yelled at by the she devil" I groaned picking up the hot cup, it warmed my cold hands, it was a quite soothing feeling, a very festive feeling as well, even though it was only the tenth of September, not the right time for hot chocolate, but it made Law happy, and that was all that mattered. By now my clothes, and presumably Law's as well were almost dry "_did it really take that long for me to make freaking hot chocolate?" _I asked myself heading downstairs leaving the mess in the kitchen "_I can clean it up later"_ I procrastinated, I didn't need to make myself look any more like a housewife, and give the doctor even more of a reason to call me his secretary.

We both sat down on my bed, since there was no other place to sit in the entire basement, at least none that would have fit the both of us. Law pulled the blanket sitting at the foot of my bed up and laid it around the both of us. I lightly rested my head against his shoulder for a moment and contentedly sipped at my hot chocolate, Law was right; the cinnamon was definitely a great addition.

We sat silently huddled together for warmth in the cold basement. I had never allowed myself to let my defenses down the way I had with Law, especially so soon, but I couldn't help but feel so comfortable around Law, as if I had known him for my entire life already, that he was just an old friend who I could be myself around.

In the next moment Law turned to towards me, I lifted my head off of his shoulder and looked back in his direction. He still remained silent but within the next couple of seconds he leaned in closer to me and softly pressed his lips against mine and then turned away from me, diverting his eye contact.

I sat there frozen, in complete shock with what had just happened. My mind couldn't decide how to process the situation, but every which way it took, it never resulted in any anger or hard feelings towards Law.

"Law..?" I whimpered, placing my hand on his back. He looked up from the state of shock he was in from what he had just done, his cheeks were perfectly pink, and the usual smirk on his face was completely gone. We looked at each other for a moment before leaning back in and allowing our lips to meet for an instant before turning away from each other once again. The kiss was brief and rather awkward and resulted in the same aversion of eye contact as before yet was also wonderful and loving in the same light.

I felt my cheeks grow warm, and couldn't help but smile before turning back to him. I had never felt this way, about anyone. I had never experienced anything like it before. When we returned to facing each other we resumed what we had stopped. Law tilted my head with his hand and brought his face to mine gently kissed me again. The kiss was different this time, it was longer, and more natural, and it showed the bit of confidence Law had gained. He slowly moved his lips against mine, not pulling back unless to take short, sporadic breaths before continuing. He gently bit at my bottom lip, forcing me closer to him. I drew my arms around his neck to pull him even closer to me. In no time Law had pushed my back to the wall my bed was up against refusing to break the kiss for more than a couple seconds. With nowhere else to move he tenderly slid his hands down my back feeling every last ridge in my spine and allowing his hands to rest on the sides of my hips, but before it could go any further Law pulled back and got to his feet.

"I'm sorry. I-I don't know what I, I have to go" He stuttered before hurrying up the stairs and out the door back outside into the cold rain before I even had a chance to object.

I collapsed back onto the bed, my lips still tasted like Law; I covered my eyes with my hands, part of me wishing he was still there. I could have sworn I felt a tear stream down my still pink cheek as I tried to make sense of everything. "_Why couldn't I object to anything he had done? Did I even want to in the first place? What would it be like the next time I'd see him, would everything change, or would we just stay the same? No matter which we choose, it was something that I will never forget, and I hope Law can say the same" _I thought still lying on the bed, holding back tears.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Law's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Without even thinking I ran out of her house into the pouring rain. I couldn't help it. I felt awful about what I had done, and even worse about everything I had thought about doing. I hated myself for what I had done; I hated myself for loving her so much. "_Stop it, just push those thoughts out of your head, please, don't do anything to further jeopardize this relationship, she's too important" _I tried to reason with myself. It had been out of my control, my heart would have been content with her beside me, with me gently kissing her soft lips, but my stupid sixteen year-old hormones wouldn't have been satisfied with that. "_Why did you have to go and do that? Don't you have any fucking self-control?" _I scolded myself _"and on top of all that, you just ran out on her, I'm no better than my fucking dad, I can't believe I just up and left her" _my mind continued, obviously dissatisfied with my actions, but I had to, I couldn't handle myself around her, I don't know how much longer it would have been before I had absolutely no control, and I couldn't bring myself to try to force her into anything, I had far too much respect for her, I loved her too much. I tried to centralize my thoughts, and just forget about everything, but I couldn't, my mind kept flashing back to how upset I was with myself, and just the thought of her soft lips against mine. It was a wonderful feeling I could help but enjoy, and I hated that I felt that way. "_After she had been so nice to you, so kind, so supportive, you have to go and do something like that, just to ruin everything you've tried so hard to finally have, will she ever forgive you for that, will she ever trust you again?" _I couldn't help but be ashamed of myself.

I finally got home, not soon enough. My clothes had once again been soaked from the rain which still had no signs of letting up, I walked into my house wishing I could've just stated the day over again.

"Nīchan, Nīchan!" the cheery voice of my little brother greeted me as I walked in "Nīchan, what happened, you're all wet?" he noted

"Don't worry about it sport, I just got caught in the rain" I said patting his head

"Is nīchan okay?" He asked, I never understood how kids were so good at picking up on those subtle indicators, but it's not like I could talk to my six year old brother about my girl troubles, and I wasn't about to talk to any of my older brothers, getting made fun of for never having a girlfriend was hard enough, I didn't need any more teasing, and there's no way in hell I could trouble my mom with that.

"Yes, yes Jay-Jay, everything's fine" I lied, pretending as if I was alright, I'm sure the kid saw right through it.

"Law, is that you?" my mother called "I'm so glad you're home, is everything alright?" She was out of bed again, I told her not to get up; she'd never get better if she kept trying to work herself.

* * *

**A/N: **Aww, hot chocolate with cinnamon, isn't that sweet, I have no idea what made me think of _that _but something did, haha. Sorry I am so bad at writing any sort of romantic scene but I felt that it was needed. still working on the names of Law's siblings, and yes his little brother's name is supposed to be spelled Jay-Jay, not J.J. Why? I don't know, I felt like it. you can tell that I'm really wishing for the winter right about now, it shouldn't be ninety-seven degrees this late in the summer. Ugh, what I wouldn't do for snow, the North Blue looks more and more inviting each day.

I don't own One Piece


	28. Chapter 28: The Nuclear Family

"Law, is that you?" My mother called "I'm so glad you're home, is everything alright?" She was out of bed again, I had told her not to get up; she'd never get better if she kept trying to work herself.

"I'm fine, there's nothing you have to worry about, you need to rest, now" I ordered, finding my pale-faced mother standing in the kitchen "Mom, you need to get back to bed, you're not well enough for such activity."

"I'm fine Law" she said placing her hand on my shoulder

"You're not" I growled and planted my hand against her forehead "your fever's back, how can you expect yourself to get better if you won't allow your body time to heal itself?" My mom had been sick for over a year now, some days were worse than others, I was doing everything that I could to make sure she stayed well, but mom hated being bedridden, she didn't like feeling that she was relying on her sons too much, and I know always seeing me act so down wasn't helping her spirits, I wasn't sure if she even knew about my poor performance in school, if she had I'm sure she'd have been far more worried. I directed her back to her room and irately walked myself to the bathroom to fetch a thermometer and her medication.

"Nīchan, don't be sad anymore!" Jay-Jay ran into the room and clasped his arms around my legs, immobilizing me, and sobbing into my already soaked jeans "please, nīchan, mommy hates when you're sad, it makes her sad! And I hate when you're sad! Please don't be sad anymore nīchan!" He continued to cry, for such a small boy he was outrageously strong, he had a death grip on my legs; which made me afraid that he would cut off my circulation; and he had no intention of releasing his grasp.

"It's okay Jay-Jay, I'm not sad anymore" I ruffled his hair and tried to bend down to his level while he still clung to my legs.

"You're lying!" He shouted before jumping back and running out of the room in tears "Please nīchan, don't be sad anymore, and don't be mad at mommy, please don't leave us!" I could hear his cries from another room

"Jay-Jay…" I began as I joined him in our bedroom, where he had been crying into the pillow on his bed "where would you even get that idea" I muttered, gently rubbing his back trying to assuage him.

"Because daddy left after he got mad at mommy" he sobbed still not lifting his face off of the pillow.

"Where did you hear that?" I asked him, Jay-Jay was still a newborn when my father left us, he couldn't possibly have remembered that, even though it was true, there was no way any one could have remembered something that happened when they were so young.

"Because mommy still cries about daddy, and the only thing I 'member about him is all the yelling" he whimpered

It was horrible, the things that bastard did to our family, they even effected Jay-Jay, for years I had hoped that he would have been spared any of the appalling memories, but I guess it was ever so unfortunate that the kid was bright. "Jay-Jay, I'm not going to leave, nīchan's sorry he got upset, okay?" Jay-Jay had always been closest with me, maybe it was because I was his older brother, true, he had three others, maybe it was because he was my only little brother, whereas the others had all been an older brother long before Jay-Jay came into the picture, it was special to me, I had always been the youngest, it made me feel much more important when I saw how he idolized me, my actions these past years must have been hurting him just as much as me, and it's not like any of this was particularly easy on anyone in our family.

The boy sat up and looked at me, his big brown eyes were still brimming with tears, and his face was red from crying. He wrapped his little arms around me tightly. "You're getting strong, sport" I chuckled and patted him on the head.

He looked up at me with his innocent eyes "nīchan, you got me all wet" he held out his arms as proof.

"That's your own fault" I joked with him "and it isn't my fault it's raining" I continued as I set out dry clothes for Jay-Jay, and some for myself too while I was at it.

"Nīchan" he spoke as I was leaving the room "why do you smell like a girl?" I froze for a second, but didn't turn around.

"Uh, do I?"

"Yeah!" He cheered "You smell sweet, like a flower"

"Oh."

I shrugged my shoulders not wanting to respond to his question, and in no frame of mind to lie, the cold from my wet clothes, which were now suctioned to my skin, had finally gotten to me. But I wasn't about to tell the kid the truth either. I left the room and changed into the dry clothes and went to tend to my mother.

"Mom, what were you doing up, I told you that you shouldn't be getting out of bed?"

"I had to let Jay-Jay in" She replied meekly "it was going to rain"

"And Chase couldn't have done that for you?"

"I didn't want to trouble him, he has so much work to do as it is, all you boys do" she coughed

"You'll get even sicker if you don't let us help you" I shook my head and handed her the thermometer. "102°, mom, how much else have you been doing, I've told you before, leave any work around the house to me, you can't be doing this to yourself"

"Law" She whispered "don't worry about me so much, I always get better, it's causing you too much stress, and that makes me worry about you."

"I'm sorry" I responded and handed her medication to her. "I'll make dinner tonight" I offered and began to get up when she held me back and motioned me to sit beside her.

"Let Chase handle it tonight, you've done enough today, you need to rest too"

"Alright" I complied and sat down in the chair beside her bed.

"Now…" She began "why don't you tell me about her?"

"What?" I coughed, nearly choking on my tongue.

"Your little girlfriend, what's she like?"

"There's no girl, I don't have a girlfriend" I stuttered, trying to deny everything

"Oh really, then what's gotten into you lately?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've been much more pleasant as of late, you seem to be happier."

"That doesn't mean I…"

"Fine, fine, you'll tell me when you're ready" She smiled triumphantly

I sighed deeply "She's just my good friend"

"Is that so?"

"Yes, yes…nothing more" I replied defensively

"So that's what's been making my little Law swoon"

"No, nothing of the sort"

"Are you sure, it's been a while since I've seen those delightful pink cheeks of yours"

"Huh?" I instinctively covered my face with my hand

"No, no, it's a good thing, you need more people in your life who care about you, you've been so closed to people, not inclined to trust anyone, or let them in, it's good for you to have someone else, as long as I won't be expecting any grandchildren, at least not for a while"

"Mom!" I shrieked, completely mortified "_thanks for adding to my list of things I shouldn't be thinking" _"Please, no, we aren't even…"

"You love her don't you?"

I shut my eyes and looked away, a thin scowl spread across my face, I didn't want to admit it, especially not to my mother, but I didn't want to outright deny it either. "How do you know so much?"

"A woman can tell" she responded vaguely "now why don't you tell me about her, what makes her do different, since the Law I know isn't quite interested girls, he usually kept to himself not wanting to spark up a relationship with anyone, what makes this one so special? She continued to prod around the realm of my mind I had no intention of discussing.

I shrugged "She's just…different, she's not like other girls, she's smart, and loyal, she understands me and she goes out of her way to make me feel better, I just can't explain it"

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Virginia's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

I had sat on my bed for a good hour, doing absolutely nothing thinking about what had happened. I had brushed my teeth at least three times within the past hour but the taste was still there, it seemed that nothing would ever get rid of it; it would be something that I'd always remember.

Though I for sure wasn't happy with the course of action he had taken I just couldn't muster up any anger towards him. Though in the moment everything seemed justifiable, I had no idea how to react next time I saw him. "_Oh, great, it's only Monday, of course we have school tomorrow_" I groaned wishing for more time to sort the things in my mind out before I'd have to sort things out with Law. On the other side of the coin, Law and I didn't have much time alone as it was, the short minutes between passing periods, and Spanish class, should we find an opportunity to talk, the majority of our day would be spent awkwardly around other people. _"Acting that way around Luffy and the others would cause enough of a stir, I couldn't even, or didn't want to imagine, how it would be around his friends, or worse; around Kid" _I hadn't even given a thought about Kid in the whole scenario, and all the complications that would add. There was a part of me that wish none of this had ever happened, that it hadn't started raining when it had, that Law and I hadn't met up after school, or maybe even farther, maybe that the entire week end had never happened. "_If I could do it all over would I?" _I wondered. But there was another part of me, the part that probably would have won the battle between the two, that part that told me that everything happens for a reason, the part that, if given the chance to do it over, would have made everything play out the exact same way; and maybe that part was right, maybe it was all meant to be, maybe there was no point in regretting it, since I wasn't even entirely sure I should be.

I threw on my pajamas and got into bed, though it was probably useless, not only did I have entirely too many things on my mind for a normal person to be able to fall asleep, but, just my luck, I wasn't able to sleep in the first place. "_Would there even be a point in me trying to fall asleep, it's hard enough just to get to sleep in the first place; and I really don't need any more nightmares to wake up screaming to" _I asked myself before turning out the lights.

I lied awake for a while, my mind racing through all my thoughts, as if it was still trying to make sense of everything that had happened within the last few weeks, hell, even the last few days would have been nice to understand, before finally drifting off to sleep to another inevitable nightmare looking back into the past, mocking me with the fact that I would never be able to see her again, that there was no possible way to get her back, or to even talk to her again, not to even say goodbye. Another dream highlighting my every last regret, the only thing I couldn't possibly find a reason in this world for. Another dream that would wake me up within the next few hours, only rendering me unable to get back to sleep for the rest of the night.

* * *

**A/N: **Here it is, a little chapter almost completely in Law's perspective, it was quite interesting writing so much from Law's perspective. Especially because Jay-Jay is by far my new favorite OC of mine, I love being able to write in a completely innocent style that only children are allowed to hold. Still have two more names I need to make up for Law's other two older brothers. *sighs* Why I chose to give him so many brothers when I know so very well that I only do well when referencing some historical figure in a name (which I don't want to do for Law's sibs) so I've got my work cut out for me.


	29. Chapter 29 A Quick One While He's Away

I woke up the next morning in the usual way two hours too early, out of breath, and my nails digging into my shoulders, the restful sleep I had gotten the night before mocked me, it made waking up like this feel even worse. "_It_ _was just a dream"_ I told myself before getting out of bed, ready to start the day and fall back into the habitual, with any luck I would learn what that meant.

The rain from the day before had finally stopped, but the sky was still dark and the air was still cooler than usual, indicating that the storm had not completely passed and would most likely result in another downpour.

I walked into the school, as I normally would, and headed up to my locker, hoping I wouldn't run into Law, I hadn't worked out exactly what I was going to say to him yet.

I started up the stairs, being sure not to take my usual route, hoping that I could decrease my chances of encountering Law. For once I was almost anticipating getting to Dr. Sakazuki's class, almost.

"Oi, Virginia-chan" Sanji waved from the group of our friends who had congregated outside the classroom.

"We have our first official meeting today!" Luffy cheered in a voice far too loud to be discrete "It's like we're real pirates, it's so cool!"

"Just a little louder, you idiot" Zoro rolled his eyes at his future captain.

"Louder?" Luffy cocked his head to the side, not fully understanding the sarcastic remark.

"No Luffy" Robin clarified.

"But Zoro said…"

"No, no, listen Luffy, he meant you were being too loud" Usopp attempted to explain

"But he said…"

"He may have said that but he didn't mean it"

"Hmm…" Luffy pondered with a confused look on his face "that's stupid" he concluded, unable to comprehend why someone would say something that they didn't mean.

The first bell sounded and the halls began to clear

"So, we'll meet at lunch?" Chopper asked for clarification

"Yes" we all responded

"Alright you no good trouble makers, that was the bell, it's time to get to class!" Dr. Sakazuki announced to the entire hall, addressing all the students who were still milling about, talking with other students, in no hurry to start the day.

"See you guys later!" Luffy waved goodbye as he began to march happily away.

Sanji and I filed into the classroom, shorty accompanied by Ace. I sat up perfectly straight in my desk and set out my notes, which if someone were to read, they would probably only be able to conclude one thing, that pirates were bad, which was really the only things we were ever taught in that class.

Dr. Sakazuki glared at Ace as I as if saying "there's a reason I put you rotten youths in the front, next to my desk" I maintained the elegant posture while wearing a sarcastic I'm-eager-to-learn look on my face. The action only gained me a deeper scowl from my bigoted instructor.

The second bell rang and Dr. Sakazuki resumed his favorite activity of pinning all the misfortune of the world on the pirates who 'polluted the seas', for the marines could do no wrong in his eyes. I glanced to my right, observing Ace, suppressing his anger at Dr. Sakazuki's latest travesties to blame his father for. I could tell that Ace was near the end of his patience and refraining from causing another scene. It was as if Dr. Sakazuki could tell that it was getting to Ace, for he persisted with his insults, he seemed to find the teenagers growing anger rather amusing.

Though the class as unbearable, and on a normal day I would have been counting down each and every last eternal minute, awaiting the blissful tolling of the automatic bell, however today, that was the last thing I wanted. On that day I would have rather sat through an entire day of one-sided lectures than have to deal with Law, and whatever awkward and embarrassing conversations would result.

The bell rang all too soon for my current liking and I trekked to the class I'd been dreading since the night before. I walked up to the fourth floor and into the math room, once there, to my surprise Law wasn't there yes; I could breathe easy. I sat quietly as the other students crowded into the well-lit room "Law should be here by now" I pondered the unusual circumstance. "Law's never this late" I continued. Even Kid had already situated himself in the classroom; Law never came later than Kid. The second bell sounded and there was still no sign of Law. "He still hasn't show up yet?" The reservations I had about seeing him next quickly faded, and I grew worried. As a result I jumped to a plethora of conclusions, something which I was prone to doing when anxious. "I hope he didn't get sick" I fretted, feeling all too responsible if he had.

I shuddered at the thought, hoping that it was only in my head, as my maternal instincts took over. Wherever he was, I felt the need to accompany him, to offer my help, and to make him feel better in any way I possibly could. I glanced back into reality, realizing that class had stated some time ago, and I hadn't heard a single world of what had been taught thus far.

"Alright class, you may work by yourself or with a partner on this packet, either way it's due this Thursday" Mr. Smoker concluded the lesson which I hadn't taken any part in whatsoever, and proceeded to pass out the homework that I was in no mood to do.

I slumped over in my desk and scribbled down the answers, avoiding contact with anyone else; just like I had the first day I came to this class.

"Partners?" Kid asked

"Oh, um, okay" I agreed aloofly, still scrawling the answers onto the paper.

"Great, now can you answer me this?" I raised my eyebrow and nodded, prompting him to go ahead with his question. "What the fuck does any of this mean?"

I laughed and rolled my eyes playfully "were you even listening at all?" _"Yeah, right Virginia, if that isn't the most hypocritical statement you've made this past month"_ I scolded myself

"He's not a very good teacher" Kid justified; I couldn't fully disagree with him.

I continued through my next two classes normally, I wouldn't normally see Law then so he almost left my thoughts. But there were of course, still wandering notions that fluttered through my mind.

I walked to history class as usual; I took my seat next to Ace, Luffy and Robin. Luffy was still going on about our 'first official meeting' as he insisted on putting it. I observed Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo sitting without Law. I wanted to ask them where he was, however I doubted they'd know, Law didn't seem like the person who'd bother people with the useless details of his life, no matter how important they really were.

Throughout the entire class period Luffy anxiously stared at the clock in attempt to make time move faster out of his pure anticipation. "What's got you so on edge, Luffy?" his concerned older brother asked.

"Nothing" He snapped back childishly "just a secret meeting, and you're not invited, unless you want to join my crew" Luffy indirectly offered the position yet again.

Ace just rolled his eyes "I wouldn't be interested in you little games Luffy"

"It's not a game!" Luffy whined in the way only he could.

"Then what is it?"

"A meeting"

"And for what purpose?"

"Uh, er, um…" Luffy stuttered, having blindly agreed to it the day before he wasn't exactly sure what the reason was, only that it involved out whole crew, which excited him. "Why are we meeting again?"

"To find new information" Robin replied

"Boring!" Luffy screamed "I want to talk about which islands we want to go to"

"You don't really get to choose, Luffy, you have to follow the path the logpose is set on" Robin tried to educate him.

"Hmm?" was the only response, accompanied by the typical confused look on Luffy's face

"In the Grand Line you must select one path to lead you to the other side of the Red Line; then you enter the New World"

"And that's where the One Piece is?" he asked eagerly, almost drooling.

"Yes, but it's not until the last island of the entire Grand Line, that's a long ways Luffy"

"Then that's where we're headed" he declared, again without consent of his crew.

Ace just shook his head at the display before him "you're free to come with us today, Ace, you may find something interesting"

"No, it's only for our crew!" Luffy protested

"We never agreed to that" I reminded him. Which in all honesty was true, Ace had even been there when we made our vows to set out to sea as pirates, even if he wasn't going to accompany us, he still was our friend, companion and maybe even ally.

"Why, is Trafal-guy coming too, is he gonna join our crew?" Luffy persisted

"No, no, Law isn't coming, but Ace can if he so chooses"

"Nah, it's probably nothing, and besides, I have no need to take part in the exploits of my brother." He chuckled

"Well, if you change your mind you know where we'll be, lunch may be rather lonely all by yourself" I reminded

"Maybe I will then"

"Is that alright with you, captain?" Robin humored him.

"Heehee, yup" he giggled, suddenly okay with it. "okay, then let's go!" He stood up ready to leave

"Luffy, sit down" We echoed

"Huh?"

"The bell hasn't even rung yet"

"Oh, whoops!" he laughed off his mistake and came back to his seat to wait for the bell to ring before scampering off to lunch to swallow as much food as he possibly could before heading down to out so called headquarters.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Law's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"You didn't need to stay home for me Law, you need to go to school" My mother coughed. "Please don't sacrifice your chances of a good education for my sake." She made another attempt to get up out of bed and work.

"No, if you don't get better there'd be no point of me even going to school, I'll have to drop out to take care of Jay-Jay" I said bluntly. Talking around a subject and trying to sugar coat the facts didn't work with my mother. She needed the cold, hard facts delivered directly to her or she'd never be convinced of anything.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry it's been so long since I last posted. Here's just a quick (hence The Who reference in the title, to be honest that's the sole reason for the title, I couldn't think of anything, I'm so bad with titles!), fun chapter, I'll have a better on up tomorrow. I wrote this one on the bus so don't expect it to be top notch, granted I've written the last few on the bus as well...our bus driver gets lost...a lot...like Zoro a lot... so I make use of the extra time. xD I was hoping to have more Law and Jay-Jay brother time but I didn't have time and really wanted to get a chapter up.

As always I do not own One Piece.


	30. Chapter 30: For the Sake of Your Family

I hadn't gone to school that day for the sake of making sure my mother got the rest she so needed. I knew that the woman hated when the chores around the house didn't get done, and if one of us wasn't there to do them she would be the one then. I had to offer my services in any way that I could, if I didn't my mother would never fully recover. The only way to assure that she'd do what was best for her was for me to be there myself.

"I'll take Jay-Jay to school today" I offered. I if I hadn't I knew that she would have felt compelled to, since she was still worried about his ability to get to and from school, and rightfully so, he was only just six, and her youngest son at that.

She looked back at me, not verbalizing any response, yet she never accepted nor declined my offer though. Her face was still pale and weak looking from her fever.

Jay-Jay sat on the couch in our family room. His legs were bent at the knee and had been tucked in tightly to his torso, pulled in by the embrace of his arms. He worse a somber look on his face and his short, unbrushed bangs had fallen down into his eyes as he stared at the ground "Is mommy gonna be okay?" he asked meekly and directed his gaze up in my direction. Hoping I would give him the response he had been hoping for.

"Don't worry sport, mommy's gonna be fine, I promise." His muscles relaxed but the worried look remained plastered to his face. "Come on, it's lunch time, what would you like me to make you?" I asked him, directing his attention away from the issues at hand. Whenever I stayed home to help he always became increasingly worried, he was smart for his age, and he was able to understand that something was out of place, and it agitated him. I pat his head and ruffled his hair trying to show him that everything was alright, and that he shouldn't have to be worried.

"A sammich!" he responded enthusiastically.

I groaned internally, that was the biggest difference between the kid and I; our taste in food. I hated bread, ever since I was little. In all honest I had been a rather picky eater, but I would have been able to tolerate just about anything if the situation called for it, but not bread. Sure it wasn't the typical broccoli or spinach that most kids hate when they're young, but it was the same concept. The only real difference was I had carried that hatred into my adolescent years, and I didn't intend to all of a sudden gain a liking to said particular food. But for Jay-Jay, I'd comply to make him happy. "Alright sport, anything you want."

"I want grill-cheese!" he cooed.

My skills with an oven were limited, not to say I was completely lost, but I normally stuck to simple foods that didn't require baking, but I was relatively certain I could handle a simple grilled cheese sandwich. I set a place for him at the kitchen table, handed him an apple and poured him a glass of milk. . Jay-Jay eagerly got up from his spot at the table and rushed over to the cupboard. He pushed the chair up to the counters he could reach the shelf her wanted, and pulled out the open box of rice crackers. I could have sworn that the kid could have lived off of them he liked them so much.

"Nīchan, nīchan, is it ready yet?" he begged

"Not yet, be patient, it will be ready in a minute." He pouted and crossed his arms "Why don't you drink your milk first?"

"Don't want to" he pouted turning his face away from me

"It's good for you"

"How?" He asked, suddenly interested.

"Calcium, it helps your bones get stronger" I explained

"Really?"

"Yes"

"Hmm, what about apples?"

"Vitamin C, it helps your vision"

"What about sammiches?"

"Well, bread is a starch, it gives you energy, and cheese has calcium and protein, it helps your body get stronger and repair itself"

"Yeah! Nīchan's so smart!" he cooed

He finished his lunch and got read for his afternoon kindergarten class. "Nīchan…" he started "Do I have to go to school?"

"Yes, of course you do, what would make you ask that, why wouldn't you want to go to school?" I asked crouching down to his level.

"Because you don't go to school, and you know everything without going so I shouldn't have to go either, and I wanna be like nīchan!" he cried in protest.

"Listen, Jay-Jay" I tried to explain my actions to deter the kid's thought process away from the ideas that had already been planted and reaffirmed in his mind. "nīchan has other responsibilities outside of school here at home. Nīchan still tries to go to school, because it is important"

"Then why don't you go nīchan!"

"I would if I could, but sometimes I need to help around the house" I tried to explain to the best of my abilities.

"Then I have 'sponsibilities too!"

"No, you're too little to have responsibilities right now"

"I'm not too little!" He adamantly protested.

"Jay-Jay, you have to go to school, you need to learn so you can grow up and have responsibilities."

"But I wanna be like nīchan" He shouted and clung to my arm.

"_He's usually not this stubborn" _I thought trying to calm him down. "Jay-Jay, your responsibility is to go to school, if you really want to help out you'll go to school and get a good education."

"Really?"

"Of course"

"Will that make you happy, nīchan?" I nodded silently in his direction. "Okay then" he muttered and got back to his feet. "Let's go nīchan!" He smiled again, now pulling me to my feet by my arm.

I walked him to his kindergarten class; outside the skies were still overcast but seemed to be on the verge of clearing up. The mid-September air was lightly chilled by a gentle breeze that tickled my skin. The leave had already begun to paint themselves with bright colors in preparation for the arrival of autumn. I walked him to the school yard and sent him off into the burgundy colored brick building. I waited on the school grounds for him to get into the school. Earlier in the year I had walked him to his classroom, considering this was his first year in school it was a big change for him, but now he insisted that he could navigate his own way, and who was I to distrust him? It had been over two weeks since I last took him to school. After I was assured that he got into the school safely I left the school yard, but not without some odd gazes from the staff who had been chaperoning the school playground. With all the times that they had seen me dropping Jay-Jay off I was thoroughly convinced that they thought I was his real father. I didn't think I looked any older than sixteen or seventeen, maybe eighteen the highest, but I thought that was even pushing it; and Jay-Jay, by default, couldn't have been any younger than five. In the extreme cases that would have made me no older than thirteen when he was born, even though I was actually only ten, without any information maybe this could have been concluded, but even so, the numbers seemed a bit ridiculous. I guess they never thought about it from that sense, they just saw a young boy dropping off a young kid who looks an awful lot like him for kindergarten. Instead of thinking about it rationally, it seemed they chose to believe that I was just another promiscuous teenager who knocked up his girlfriend.

I took the shortest route home; I didn't want to give my mother too much time alone. If there was housework to be done she'd be the one to get it done. My mom was typically a pretty easy going person, but the one thing she would not tolerate was a messy house, and she made that perfectly clear to us. I came upon the playground I had spent so much of my time at as a child. I reminisced those years, the best years, when we were a family; a whole family, the way it's supposed to be. I clenched my fists thinking about all the misfortunes that plagued us and deterred us from those wonderful memories. I took a short cut through the grove like park, lines with coniferous trees, to make it home faster. I remembered the night I'd dragged _her _here; though it was less than a week ago it felt like so much time had passed since then. Strolled down the concrete path in silence, and wondered if she had been thinking about me at all.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Virginia's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

We all met in the lunch room, the one common ground for all of us, before we went to the auditorium. Luffy inhaled far more food that what should have been physically possible for any human; as if it were the last meal he'd ever eat.

"Taste the food, Luffy" Sanji ordered. Luffy mumbled something unintelligible in response with is face stuffed with a medley of different foods.

Once Luffy had finished his feast the ten of is packed up to leave for the auditorium. Ace remained at our table, alone. "You coming, Freckle-Face?" I offered. I'd always had a soft spot got those who were left alone, that made me more apt to inclusions.

He shrugged "I've got nothing else going on" and followed us out of the cafeteria and down the quiet hallways into the vacant auditorium.

"Okay guys! What are we doing?" Luffy shouted, his high pitched voice echoed off of the stone walls of the antiquated building.

"Luffy, keep your voice down, we aren't supposed to be here" I pleaded in a voice just above a whisper.

"Sorry" he mouthed with a sheepish grin on his face.

I opened the wooden door to the small room underneath the stage. My mind unintentionally flashed back to the day before when Law and I had snuck down here together, and all the worries I had set aside in my mind about him had returned. _"I hope he's okay, I'd take full responsibility if he got sick" _I frowned before crawling into the cramped space.

"These are just files on past students, I don't think they'll be of much help to us" I pointed to an old tarnished filing cabinet divided up by the letters of the alphabet. "If there's anything in this room it should be here" I pointed to the stacks of files all stamped _classified _with the seal of the World Government located below it.

"A-are you sure we should be reading those?" Usopp stuttered

"I'm not entirely sure about anything" I smirked

"Please don't talk like that!"

"I doubt anyone will find out, I don't think anyone even knows they're here."

"Could we get in trouble for this?"

"If we get caught." I said bluntly, something I must have picked up from Law.

"Hold on…" Zoro started "What are we even looking for?"

"That's what I've been trying to figure out!" Luffy jumped in.

"Robin wanted to see if there were any details about the Poneglyphs or The Void Century."

"And how do we know what any of these files are about?"

"You just have to skim through them and try to get the gist of what it's about; generally you can tell after the first few lines"

"You never mentioned anything about reading!" Luffy shouted, displeased with the answer.

"I think we said studying the files." Robin added

"Studying, not reading!" Luffy corrected.

"Studying, ergo reading" I explained to him.

"Nuh-uh, thery're different"

"Alright captain, whatever you say; then we are reading the files" Luffy still didn't look pleased.

After a short time Robin took interest to a particularly well-worn file. "May we take these files out of this room?" She asked

"Yeah, do whatever you want, this is out headquarters."

"No, no, we have to put everything back the way it was, what if someone else comes here like we do and we don't know about it" Usopp protested.

"What, someone's using our headquarters without our permission?" Luffy shouted

"Keep your voice down!" Nami scolded, hitting him upside the head.

"Ouch! That was uncalled for" Luffy rubbed the back of his head where Nami had hit him "they'll have to fight us if they want to take our headquarters"

"Luffy, no one comes down here, I could tell by the lock that was on the door, and besides, it looks the same as we left it every time I come down here, why would someone go through so much trouble to cover up their tracks if they thought that they were the only one who knows about this place? It just doesn't make sense."

"Okay, but if someone threatens our territory, be prepared for battle!"

"Whatever you say captain." I shook my head. "So, are we all set?" I asked preparing to leave.

"Wait, Virginia, didn't you want to show me an article you read yesterday?"

"Oh, right" I said fumbling for the file I'd found yesterday. "Here, do you want to ready it?"

She took the file and began scanning over the pages within. "My, that's awful" She remarked once she finished "How can they just do that, and to a child at that?"

"What's wrong, Robin-chan?"

"The Celestial Dragon, for no reason at all…" the sentence trailed off "I know there have been reports of these kinds of things, but I've never seen one with my own eyes. Ignorance is bliss I suppose."

"Let me see that!" Luffy grabbed the paper from Robin's hands and looked over the paper. The typical happiness that usually adorned his face faded as he progressed in through the pages. He had traded his smile in for a subtle frown, accompanied by the tears that were brimming in his eyes. The look on his face seemed to be a cross between pure anger and deep sadness.

"Luffy…" I started "is something wrong?"

"Luffy, what's going on?" Usopp chimed in.

"Luffy-san?"

He slammed the file closed and exited the room and stormed out of the auditorium, I'd never seen him upset before, in truth I didn't even think it was possible.

"What's gotten into him?" Nami asked picking up the file.

"What's the story even about?" Zoro wondered

"I don't know" Nami read over the pages. "Just some kid who's ship was destroyed by a Celestial Dragon."

"Wait hold on a minute" Ace, who had been silent the entire time, now spoke. "May I see that?"

"Sure" Nami handed him the file.

"Do you know what made Luffy so sad?" Chopper asked worriedly "I hope he's okay, I've never seen Luffy acting like that before."

Ace didn't respond, instead his attention remained fixated on the report before him. "What is it, Ace? Do you know why Luffy…" Before I could finish Ace shut the file and clenched his fists, his eyes flashed with anger that must have been repressed for years.

"I can't believe those people. No wonder he wanted to leave"

* * *

**A/N: **Oh Law and bread, I think it must be incorporated somehow, since everyone seems to think it's so weird (to be honest I never fancied bread much myself, especially sliced bread O-O Vienna bread's okay. Oh my life...) And I mean I had to add more Law and Jay-Jay, it's just too cute and too much fun to write. I promise he and Virginia will meet someday, haven't exactly picked a situation yet, but it will happen, I promise, just like Law's other two older brothers will get names, I just don't know when that will be get.

Poor Ace and Luffy, I hope for their sake that Sabo is alive...

I don't own One Piece.


	31. Chapter 31: One More Reason

Ace stared at the file he still clenched in his hand. "No wonder he wanted to leave." He whispered.

"Ace, what's going on?" I pled. He continued to look away, as if he were looking through this situation, back to something else. "What happened, what's wrong with Luffy, please, tell me!"

"We lived in the East Blue, outside Goa Kingdom. My father had asked for Garp's help since he knew he wouldn't be around. After my mother died he took me to the East Blue. He left me with a friend of his, Dadan, you remember her right? She was a mountain bandit whom Garp said he'd keep out of prison if she took care of me. Shortly thereafter Garp brought his grandson, Luffy to live with us."

"What ever happened to Luffy's family anyway?" I interrupted.

"Dragon, his father left to lead the Revolutionary Army."

"And his mother?"

"Who knows? Luffy didn't even know he had a father until Garp told him, maybe by now he's figured out that he has a mother as well, but he doesn't know anything about her."

"That's so…sad" those were the only words I could manage to choke out. I could relate to Luffy in that sense, I had no idea who my parents were. Aside from some vague recollections of my mother's appearance I knew nothing of who they were; or about anyone else in my family, or even a clue as to where any of them may be.

"Before Luffy had gotten there I befriended a kid from Goa Kingdom…" he paused and stared at the file. I knew all too well where this was going. I almost wanted to stop him, spare him the memories, but I knew better than anyone that it's much worse to bottle everything up until you can't stand it anymore. "His name was Sabo; he was from a noble family on the island. Sabo didn't like the nobility, he'd often sneak out passed the Grey Terminal and come and see me. He didn't like the repression of freedom, so much so that we made a pact to set out to sea when we were seventeen, I still haven't lived up to that promise" Ace shook his head

"Why seventeen?"

"When he turned eighteen he would be forced to marry girl from the nobility whom his parents thought fitting."

"That's terrible, how can they be so fucking concerned with their worthless status when they see their child is unhappy. Wouldn't parent give up such useless things for their child's happiness?"

"That's what they thought was best for him, and if we really want to get down to the specifics, probably the only reason they even had his was to carry on their genes. Not because they loved him, or even each other, just so their names could live on."

"That's bullshit; I can't believe they would be so selfish. If they aren't willing to give themselves up for the sake of their child then they should be having one in the first place. That's why I'm never going to have kids; I don't want that type of responsibility. And I couldn't live with myself if I couldn't protect them. But if I did, I'd never want to force them into something they were unhappy with."

"All Sabo wanted was to be free of that title. It's strange, so many people envy the nobles and their wealth and power; but they don't realize how much they have to give up. The exact thing that so many on the island were jealous of was the one thing Sabo died to get rid of."

"Ace, what happened to him? Why was he sailing in front of the Celestial Dragons like that?"

"He was trying to protect Luffy and I, we were his brothers after all."

"What do you mean?"

"When the nobility in Goa Kingdom received word that a Celestial Dragon was coming to visit, they all knew that they'd have to kiss his ass to gain his approval or whatever they were looking for. They figured that the lawless area of the Grey Terminal was 'too poor and disgusting' and it need to be 'taken care of'. So they decided they'd make it so it never existed. Their plan was to burn the entire poverty stricken area, with all the people in it. With the help of the ruthless local pirate Bluejam and his crew they set the plan in action."

"Those bastards, how can they have such little regard for human life? I can't fucking stand it, where the fuck is the World Government in this? The Marines? Oh, that's right; they're the ones condoning it. Damn hypocrites, they say the pirates are such vile creatures, the way they slaughter innocent people and towns, yet those close to the government do the same thing, on a much larger, more horrific, and all around more pointless scale, and everything's kept hush. I guess it remains true; the only crime pirates are guilty of is opposing the government."

"Exactly, and that's precisely why Sabo wanted to detach himself from the nobles. He was against everything they were for. When Sabo heard that they were going to try to burn the entire Grey Terminal he made his best efforts to save us. He made a deal with his father that he'd stop running away and be a 'good son' if his Luffy and I could escape. Of course his father agreed, but never intended on living up to his end of the deal. Sabo escaped again and saw that the fire was started, despite his attempts he was caught again and held like a prisoner in his room. His family even disallowed him to attend the ceremony for the Celestial Dragon. Sabo deiced at that time to set out to sea early. He escaped his room and acquired a small ship. He flew his own pirate flag with his own Jolly Roger and was off. He was unaware of the Celestial Dragon's ship, but the bastard didn't like having commoner's crossing his path, so he rid himself of the problem. Luffy, Dadan and I all survived the blaze, and so did some others, but then there were those who were less fortunate. Throughout all the chaos they could still drink their wine and feast on whatever delicacy had been prepared for them on that given night. They welcomed in the World Noble as if all was normal, all was right, as if they had just committed genocide of sorts through the mass incineration of those born less fortunate."

"We can't choose who we're born to, yet we get both privileges and punishments for it."

"That's one of the reasons why I want to go to sea. So I can keep the promise I made to my brother, even in death a promise is a promise, and a brother is a brother."

There was silence after that. No one knew exactly what to say. The horrors of the world were much too real for the lot of us. At our still tender ages it wasn't something we should have been so thoroughly exposed to.

"They never found his body" I whispered.

"What?" Ace's saddened gaze perked up a bit.

"After the accident, there was no body ever recovered from the scene. Only debris from the sail and ship as well as a nearly intact top hat were found, those were submitted as evidence. There was no autopsy, no DNA testing, no blood evidence, no nothing, nothing to prove he didn't survive. Hell, they didn't even give the case the time to identify the victim."

"What are you suggesting?"

"They have nothing to prove that a death occurred, only that his ship was shot down. There is a possibility, though it may be slim but nonetheless there, that he escaped with his life, and his freedom."

"But where would he go?"

"That part I don't know. I didn't even know what his name was until today, how would I know where he'd end up?'

"Do you think he survived?"

"I can't say anything for sure, but I really hope he did. I can't stand to see anyone, no matter who they are, die at the hands of those people. I wouldn't even wish those means of death on my worst enemy. And it's something that I would really like to believe, it would show that maybe there is justice in the world. Maybe there is something up there,, and maybe they haven't completely lost their sanity enough to allow an innocent child, trying to escape the oppression brought on him by his own home, parish at the hands of a cowardly bastard, who wallows in his own self-glory as if he was the savior of the world."

"Do you think that if one were to try hard enough, that they'd be able to find him?"

"I'd say anything's possible. But of course no treasure worth finding comes without risks."

"Well then, that's one more reason for me to set out to sea." He paused briefly, absorbing the incredible information he had attained "funny, the son of the pirate king heading off to sea. They World Government won't take to kindly to that, will they?" he said more lightheartedly

"That's why you had better keep that little title under wraps, Freckle-Face. And that'll be what they call you, Freckle-Face Ace, quite a fearsome name if I do say so myself" I smirked

"That's not going to be my name."

"Then what do you suggest Freckle-Face?"

"Something better than that."

"And what could be better than Freckle-Face?"

"Just about everything."

"That's not nice, it took me three whole seconds to come up with that nickname."

"Then maybe spend five and come up with a better one."

"Nah, I think I'll stick with Freckle-Face, and besides, I'll leave the nicknaming to the government, lord knows that's just about as hard as their job gets."

"You're still going to call me that, aren't you?"

"Why yes I am."

"Fine, do what you please, but no one else can call me that."

"Aw, it's no fun if you concede."

"Then what the hell do you want from me?"

I shrugged "Does it annoy you?"

"Well, yes."

"Then that's all."

"I don't think I'll ever understand how a girls mind works."

"And you aren't supposed to."

"Chicks are weird man. SUPER crazy." Franky added

"What, are they like fucking married now?" Zoro, who had slept through half of the conversation asked.

"I thought she was with Tra-Guy." Nami said, and Usopp remained quiet, but he couldn't hide the horrified look on his face.

"Her? Really? Are you kidding? She's just my annoying little sister" Ace laughed

"Well, then I guess that make you my big, dumb, older brother."

"Manners, miss, you'll never bring home a suitable husband if you keep talking like that. Then what ever will mother think?"

"That's enough Freckle-Face, have you all forgotten something?"

"What?" Everyone else resounded.

"Isn't something missing?"

"What?" They all responded again.

"Hasn't it gotten much quieter?"

"Luffy!" Everyone shouted; aside from Brook who added the unnecessary san to the end of his name; finally realizing the piece that had been missing.

"Where did he run off to?" Nami asked, more angry than worried.

"I don't know, but it's been a while, he could be anywhere by now. He may not have the best sense of direction but he's pretty fast."

"That moron better not be breaking anything!" she continued to scold him, even though he wouldn't be able to hear her.

"I'd suggest we go looking for him." Robin declared "considering his past, the only thing we know for sure is that there's no telling where he could be and what he may be doing."

"Dammit Luffy, why must you always cause so much trouble"

"You're no walk in the park either Moss-Head, in fact you get lost when walking through the park."

"Why don't you say that a again, Love-Cook."

"I will!"

"Do you wanna fight?"

"Not the time!" I said "We have a captain to find."

* * *

**A/N: **I truly love making Ace and Virginia bicker like siblings, it's all too fun for me. Freckle-Face Ace, isn't that _so _much better than Fire-Fist Ace ;D This has been a chapter I've been meaning to write for a while, but I got distracted by Law's part and I couldn't just abandon that, I didn't want everyone to be worried about him like my poor OC. I have a bunch more ideas right now, the issue is finding the time to write them all out. I'll try to have more chapters out soon.

I don't own One Piece.


	32. Chapter 32: Only Hopes Get Out Alive

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Luffy's Perspective*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

I just took off running without even thinking. My mind had completely shut off; I didn't know what was going on anymore. The only thing I was aware of was that nothing had registered after reading that article. I just kept running, I had no place to go and nothing to be running from, I was just running. I sprinted up the stairs without any direction, not even phased by the climb. I ran down the halls, now filled with people, not paying any attention to all the people around me. It was like nothing was real anymore; I couldn't get my brain to work. I weaved in and out, through the crowds without making any attempt to stop, or even to slow down enough to realize who they were. Some of them were yelling stuff at me, but I couldn't even hear them. My mind was completely blank

"Luffy, what's wrong?"

"Luffy-chin?"

"Straw Hat, what's gotten into you?"

"Hey kid, what's the rush?"

"Luffy-sama?"

"What's happened to my husband? I should go help him!"

"Hancock, you know you two aren't married, right?"

"Not yet!"

"But Luffy's barely even talked to you."

"Hmph, have you no faith in the force of love?"

"But Hancock…"

"Quiet Sandersonia, I will make him mine."

"But…"

"I said be quiet! I have a plan"

I scaled the last flight of stairs and ran all the way down to the end of the farthest hall. "Dammit, a wall, it's in my way!" I shouted out loud, drawing even more attention to myself. I clenched my fist and raised my arm up "Gum-Gum…"

"Luffy!"

"Huh?" I shook my head frantically; finally something had registered in my brain. "What happened?"

"Luffy, are you alright?" Nami asked

"What happened?"

"You totally lost your mind!" Franky said

"Really?" I didn't really remember anything that had happened, only that I had made it all the way to the fourth floor.

"Yes, your actions rendered me speechless, though I am a skeleton, I cannot speak in the first place. Skull Joke! Yohohohoho!"

"Luffy…" Chopper panted as he came around the corner with Zoro "is everything alright, are you hurt?"

"Where have you idiots been, I thought I told you two to stay with the group."

"I'm sorry, I can only run so fast in this point, and somebody took a wrong turn!"

"Zoro!" Nami barked

"Don't look at me."

"Then who the hell was it!"

"Maybe if you had waited for Chopper to catch up…"

"So all of this is my fault?"

"Yes, thanks for admitting it."

"I wasn't admitting anything you moron!"

"Uh guys, shouldn't we tell the others we found Luffy?"

"Huh?"

"Aren't they still looking for him?"

"Oh right, thanks Chopper, that's a great idea."

"Oh shut up, you know that won't make me happy you jerk!"

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Virginia's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

We split up into two groups, Nami went with Franky, Brook, Zoro, and Chopper and I went with Ace, Robin, Sanji, and Usopp. Nami's group took the main building while we took the gym complex and the surrounding fields.

"Any signs of Luffy yet?" Usopp asked

"None whatsoever." Ace responded

"Are you sure?"

"Positive, there's an utter lack of destruction and chaos."

"Have we received any word from Nami yet?" Sanji posed

"No, not yet." I replied checking my phone once again. "If he's not there he's probably outside and that could spell trouble for us, who knows where he could have gone too. He may not be a top notch navigator but he sure can run aimlessly."

"I hope that Moss-Head didn't get my Nami-san lost. He'll have to pay for that, if he has."

"This isn't the time to think about that, just keep looking!" Ace fired back at Sanji, worrying about his brother.

"Ace, you need to calm down"

"Robin's right, Ace no matter where he is he's fine, and we'll find him, so don't worry."

After every futile attempt to find any trace of Luffy in the gym complex we headed outside in hopes of having better luck than we had inside.

"Any luck?" Sanji asked.

"Nope, nothing yet."

Within a short while Nami contacted us "Hello?"

"_Virginia, is that you?"_

"Yeah, Nami, did you guys find Luffy?"

"_Yes, we got him."_

"That's great, how is he?"

"_I'll let you decide when you get here."_

"Alright, where are you guys?"

"_The fourth floor, all the way at the end of the furthest hallway."_

"Luffy's sure fast, okay we'll be right there."

"_Okay." _Nami and I hung up.

"They got Luffy?" Ace asked

"Yeah, now let's go."

"Where to?" Sanji inquired

"The fourth floor."

"That idiot, why would he go all the way up there?"

"I have no idea, but in his defense he wasn't really in the frame of mind to be aware of his own decisions."

"Is he ever?" He and Usopp asked at the same time.

"Hey, respect your captain!" I sneered

"Shall we be going then?" Robin directed our attention back towards the school and we headed into the main building and up the stairs.

"The bell rang?" Sanij questioned observing the apparent lack of crowds infesting the halls.

"Mm-hmm" I nodded "A while ago" I announced as we made our way up the last flight of stairs to the top floor.

"Think Dr. Ivankov will notice?"

"Yeah, but if you can spin him a good enough story I think he'll understand." He shrugged as we came upon Luffy and the others.

"Where have you guys been?" Zoro smirked in Sanji's direction.

"You're one to talk Moss-Head!" Sanji barked back

"Luffy, is everything alright? We've been worried about you." Robin spoke in a concerned voice.

"We know what happened Luffy" I began

"Tell me…" He choked on the words in him mouth "What really happened to Sabo?" Do you even know? Does anyone even know?" The look on his face was drained of the child-like happiness he so often bore.

"We don't know." Ace declared, breaking the silence. "No one ever looked into the case."

"Then he could, possibly, still be alive."

"He could" I jumped in.

"Do you think he could be?" He inquired hopefully.

"I don't know." I whispered. What else could I have said in that situation? I was in the same boat a them; hoping for the best after suspecting the worst. "But I hope so." After all, nothing good ever came for calling it quits before you even had a chance to try, especially in a time like this when the stakes were so high.

Every part of me wanted our hopes to be true. If there was even one less tragedy in this cruel world it would have been a better place. "He has to be okay. Sabo wouldn't just let them overpower him like that. I know he wouldn't, he was strong." Luffy sobbed.

"We'll find him" I spoke through my tightly clenched teeth. _"Don't go making false promises." _The half of my brain clouded with cynicism; the half that had abandoned all hope for any sort of justice in this world to ever take hold; resounded, allowing all of the doubts to echo off the of every barrier that had formed in my mind. _"I'm not making false promises; I'll find this kid and get him the justice he deserves or die trying."_ I knew all too well that I wouldn't be able to take this situation lightly, it hit too close to home for me to not be passionate about it. _"I can't just let any of these crimes be overlooked. No one should ever have to deal with the agonizing pain of having to cope with the loss of someone dear to them. And knowing that that their demise was brought on willingly at the hands of another individual only intensifies the already torturous feeling harboring inside the hearts of those left behind with the cruel memory that can only be nullified by the desensitization and the oppression of all other emotions. It was cruel, and mad, and something I simply would not tolerate anymore." _

"When we set off…" Luffy declared in the most serious of voices I'd ever heard him muster up "we will find Sabo." The hall fell silent yet again. Empty in every sense, even the classrooms that surrounded us seemed unnoticing of our very presence.

"Well then…" Ace began with an ever so slight smirk across his face "that's one more reason for me to go."

The importance of the situation resonated within all of us. They'd lost their brother and friend. Even knowing exactly where they were coming from the situation seemed unfathomable on a human level. Without a word we adjourned our meeting and dismissed ourselves to our next classes of which we were outrageously late for and proceeded to return to what we had considered the normal. Health class, which was just the epidemy of normal, taught by a transvestite who somehow was exempt from the school's dress code and an alcoholic mermaid. In all honesty I was looking forward to her lecture on substance abuse.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Dr. Ivankov sang as Sanji and I entered his classroom. "I didn't realize that it was such a daunting task to reach this classroom on time."

"We're sorry sir, we ran into some kind of trouble." I mused

"Hmm, exactly what kind of trouble might you be speaking of?"

"Our dear friend tan into some unfortunate news that shed light upon the long hidden skeletons that had been shoved to the back of the closet of his mind, and sent him into a downward spiral. He was in desperate need of the support of his friends, for the sake of his mental and emotional health, we needed to stay with him." _"A little brown-nosing with connections to the lesson he'd been teaching couldn't hurt."_

"Oh my, how terrible. Might you need more time for the betterment of your friends health?"

"No, no, no, we got everything under control, he should be alright now."

"If there's any time you need to help your friend, please, do not hesitate to ask. I will plea your case for you."

"Thank you sir and we're very sorry for the disruptive nature of our tardiness today."

"Please, do not worry your little head about it."

"_And whoever said a sob story never worked?" _"Thank you sir" I nodded before going back to my seat.

"Now then, Blondie-Boy and New-Girl are here" Dr. Ivankov declared and marked something on the attendance sheet "And has anyone seen the Fuzzy-Hat-Boy today?" He glanced around the room at the blank stares and pointed to the empty chair behind me.

"I thought we were the Funky-Hat-Boys?" Shachi replied innocently while raising his hand.

Dr. Ivankov exhaled in annoyance "That's the name of the three of you together. But I cannot deny the individuality of each and every one of my students." He explained to Shachi who only nodded inanely. Penguin shook his head disappointedly at the behavior of his friend. "So, have either of you seen your skinny counterpart?" He asked again.

"No we haven't seen him since yesterday in class, maybe you should ask his plus one." The two boys around me snickered at the comment of the red-headed component.

"Ah, so the pretty little new girl's already someone's Love-Dove?" He smiled triumphantly making their assumptions even more evident.

"No. What exactly are you two morons insinuating? What ever would cause you to make such outlandish remarks?" I retorted as calmly as possible.

"Nothing." They giggled mischievously, mocking the glares I had been sending them.

"You two are idiots." I grumbled before turning back around to face the front.

"So, just to be clear, no one has seen the Fuzzy-Hat-Boy at all today?" We all remained silent signifying that we hadn't. "Oh well, I'm sure the office has already tried to reach him at home, I guess he'll just have to deal with Mr. Sengoku when he returns." Dr. Ivankov sighed.

I frowned, still worried about Law. _"Why is this bothering me so much? He's only missed one day of school, it's not like it's some national fucking crisis, what am I so worried about anyway?"_ I pondered the situation throughout the rest of the class, not in the least bit concerned about what we were lecturing about, waiting for the bell to ring so the day could be over faster.

"_Ready for another exciting day with Sr. Donquixote?" _I asked myself "_No, it's not the same without Law here." _I concluded, unable to laugh at the thought of the sadistic Spanish teacher and his ever so distracting pink feathered coat he insisted on wearing to work every day. The walk up the stairs was unusually quiet. Not that Law and I were conversationalists by any means, but the silence embodied the empties I felt even though it had been less than twenty four hours since I'd last seen him it felt like an eternity. _"What the fuck is wrong with you? He's just some kid, why is he getting to you like this? Why can't you stop worrying about him? Is it because something is actually wrong? Ugh, stop it!" _I argued with myself all the way to the classroom.

* * *

**A/N: **I finally got to add in more Ivankov, I've been waiting for that, but my own dumb ideas made it harder for that. I have so much more of this already written the problem is I have little time to type them! I'll be trying my best to get more out, I promise.

I don't own One Piece


	33. Chapter 33: Mysteries of the New World

"Hola" the conniving voice of 'nuestro profesor' greeted "¿Porque no estabas en clase ayer?" My mind drew a blank, I had been so preoccupied about Law's absence that I had completely forgotten to give even one thought to making an excuse "Yo no creo que tú estivieras enferma ayer."

"No estaba enferma ayer, pero yo trabajé con Sr. Shanks" I lied "_Shanks, you better bail me out or I'm beyond screwed"_

"¿Es verdad?"

"Sí, sí, y Law estaba con nosotros también."

"Sí, a señor Law le gusta el arte?"

"No mucho, pero él nos ayudó, porque es mi amigo."

"Es malo que tú me digas mintiras, Señorita."

"No, nunca se los diría señor." I said in defense. His face remained unchanged with his sinister smirk being the highlighted feature since his eyes were shielded by the darkened lenses for his white framed sunglasses.

"¿Ah, y donde está él ahora? No está en clase hoy tampoco."

"No sé, yo lo vi después del día escolar ayer, pero no nos hablamos hoy, y no me dijo nada acreca de que no esté aquí hoy."

"El próximo tiempo que ves él, darle estos." He commanded placing homework and notes from yesterday and today in my hands. _"How'd we miss this much?" _I thought. "Sientate ahora."

"Sí Sr. Donquixote."

"Hoy discutiremos la diferencia de los tensos en el pasado. Hay muchos formas que puede usar para expresar el pasado. Uno de esos es el pretérito. Se usa el pretérito para expresar un acción que ha cumplido y unos eventos que no eran la rutina y que ocurren un tiempo en el pasado. También puede usar el imperfecto para comunicar los cosas que eran rutina en el pasado y describir unas cosas del pasado. Usa este forma mas para la descripción y no para las acciones. Y hay un tercer tenso, se conjuga el vebo 'haber' enfrente del otro verbo que expresa la acción con –ado, -ido. Yo expilicaré como forma los tensos manaña porque soñará el tibre en tres minutos."

The class concluded and I hurried to the auditorium for art class today. Hopefully Shanks would understand why I lied, and chose to use him in my lie and then help me out, since there'd be no getting around it if he didn't.

"Alone today, are we?" Shanks asked as I entered the auditorium, surprisingly before the majority of the rest of the class.

"What?"

"You're friend's not here with you."

"Oh, right." _"Dammit, is everyone associating Law and I as inseparable now? It's only been what, two weeks?" _ I groaned "Anyway, I was wondering if I could ask a favor of you."

"What would that be?"

"If Mr. Donquixote asks you if I was working with you during seventh yesterday just agree."

"Why?"

"Because we skipped his class and it was the best excuse I could think of on such short notice."

"Lying will never get you anywhere, child."

"I know it wasn't good, but what was I supposed to say? There was no way to tell the truth so I just said what popped into my head first."

"Alright, I'll help you."

"Thank you. Oh, and if he asks, Law was there too."

"Of course."

"What?"

"Nothing." He exaggerated the word teasingly.

I scowled and stomped off to the seats, slumping down into the one next to Ace who had only just arrived sometime during our conversation. "Hey Freckle-Face, how are things? Holding up alright?"

"Still breathing." He remarked

"Shocked huh?"

"Well of course, for seven years I've thought he was dead and there was absolutely no hope, and now to be hit with this, it's crazy. Funny you'd think I'd be happy to hear this, but I think it only pisses me off more knowing they didn't even care enough to check on him, it's no wonder he was so unhappy there."

"Ace, I said this to Luffy and I'll say it again, we will find him."

"I hope your right, but finding dead or lost kids really aren't at the top of the pirates' to do list."

"Who said we had to be cookie-cutter?"

"Then I'm guessing I'll be the only people on the seas looking for both the One Piece and a long lost brother."

"Unless my parents popped out another kid somewhere along the lines you and Luffy are probably alone on that boat. Ironic, you won't even be on the same ship."

"Sorry, but Luffy and I could not work on the same ship. Living in the same house is hard enough. Not that I'd trade him for any other little brother in the world."

"Then we'll have to remember to stay close to each other. We could be rather valuable allies of each other."

"What are you saying? Of course we will, I could never just leave my friends and family."

"Great, so I guess we can declare this our first official alliance?"

"Are you supposed to be discussing diplomatic relations with other crews without the consent of you captain?"

"My captain isn't quite the diplomatic person, I'm the embassy here."

"Self-appointed" he murmured under his breath with a smug look on his face.

"As opposed to what, filling out the application and interviewing with various crews? What are you talking about, this is the great pirate era, none of that stuff matters!"

"Are you two really serious about this whole pirate thing?" The masked blond kid asked.

"Yes."

"Why, what good can come of it, you have thousands of other crews as your competition."

"The One Piece isn't my ultimate goal, but that's where my captain's headed. There are other things to accomplish on the seas you know."

"Whatever, I'm just telling you to heed this warning and be careful. Just so you know there are people here to don't want you to go and get yourself killed."

"I'm wouldn't do something so stupid as to get myself killed. After all I've seen I've learned how to get away with things, through the arts of secrecy, knowledge, and manipulation."

"You're quite the comforting person aren't you?"

"I can be nice, and poised when I need to be, but I don't need to right now, I'm here with my buddies; Killer and Freckle-Face." I remarked, jokingly putting my arms around their shoulders

"It's true" Ace chimed in "she's as honest and loyal as a golden retriever, but good luck getting her to retrieve anything for you."

"Hey, you don't know me well enough to pass those judgments Freckle-Face."

"See."

The shenanigans with Killer and Ace took my mind off of Law. At least for a little while. I was reminded of his non-attendance in biology. Even though we were only lecturing I missed his know it all attitude when it came to the class, and again in gym when I made the long walk alone. You'd think I would have walked with Usopp and Nami seeing that they were also in my biology class and walked out of the room together every day. Usopp was also in my gym class, that could have worked, but I had grown so accustomed to the route Law chose to take that I wasn't about to alter it.

Perhaps the worst part was then returning to my locker alone. I never really was fully aware of just how much time I actually spent with him during the school day until I had to spend one without him.

Upon getting home the worries only got worse. Every moment from the previous day flashed back. My poor mind wasn't spared any single detail what so ever. _"Please be okay" _I thought "_maybe I should call him, no, that'd be way too fucking creepy; how on earth would he take that? Not well I presume. Just stop worrying yourself. It can't be good for your health, and you know Law would be upset if you were to get sick. Stop thinking about him. Better yet, just stop thinking in general, since you've proved your mind only thinks on a few levels, and even within those you have a preference."_ I couldn't help from thinking about him even more. I pulled myself to the corner of my mattress and sunk into my knees holding back sobs. Why was I even crying? I didn't know. It was a culmination of things I suppose. It wasn't just Law, it wasn't just Sabo, nor the Celestial Dragons, marines, or even Roslind; it was a culmination of everything. Every thought that had crossed my mind today, every worry, every hope, and ever promise, I felt them all here again. I laid back down, trying to rest trying to clear my head of everything that had happened that day, hoping that the next would be normal. "_Damn, I have a paper to write, don't I?" _I huffed and thrust a notebook onto my bed. _"Another one of those damn open ended questions, why in the hell do they make us do these? What do they even hope to accomplish?" _'What is you purpose' was the concept. To this day I cannot figure out what that question means. There are literal and figurative meanings I suppose but it was like they actually expected us to know how to answer it in dictionary definition format in no less than twelve hundred words for a final copy. The first draft as just a rough outline full of idea starters, that was my task tonight. I guess at sixteen I was supposed to have all the answers, have my life planned out to a T, knowing exactly what the future was to hold for me. Usually on an assignment like this I would have written in the twelve hundred word guidelines about how the question can't be answered and why we shouldn't be able to answer it, and how over planning and high expectations never leave one in a good position; and that's exactly what I planned to do this time. I wouldn't have been able to answer the question anyway and 'hell if I know' doesn't seem to fit the liking of the educators, at Ember that got me a week of detention. Since they didn't actually have a detention program they just left me in the library after school and told me to stay there until five o'clock. At three-ten I was gone, I doubt they even came back to check.

_What is my purpose for being alive? It's a question that most_

_Struggle with all throughout their lives. Such a question requires_

_Great intra-personal prowess and the ability to inwardly evaluate_

_One's own actions, thoughts, and desires to which one may be able_

_To salvage such details which may lead one to the beginnings of _

_One's hopes for self-fulfillment and goal-oriented achievements. _

_This question, however is not one that can simply be answered _

_Within essay style, with the school etiquette in mind. It is a long_

_Drawn out process that we mere humans attend to in a sad attempt_

_To search for its meaning. This question cannot be answered _

_Through mere words, hopes, dreams, and desires, the answer must_

_Be discovered through our actions and reflection upon said events._

_Our thoughts and dreams speak volumes as to who we are, but nothing _

_About who we will be and what we will do. With the normal constraints _

_Cast upon us by the society of which we live we are faced with an_

_Even more daunting task in our quest for these answers. In conclusion,_

_No one exactly knows what the future holds, which is for the best. Perhaps_

_There is a reason we aren't aware of our futures. Perhaps they are kept_

_Just out of reach for the sake of our innocence, for the sake of maintaining_

_Our ability to dream, and to hope for the best. If we were able to say _

_What we each had in store for our futures there would be no point_

_In even getting up each morning. Nothing in this world is certain, no _

_Matter how many facts and findings are there to support it,_

_And the only things that are certain are the depressing facts that we_

_Live in a world so blinded by ourselves that we can't get beyond_

_The clouded mirror that only shows us half of what we need_

_To see. And the only result is a detachment from the _

_Troubled world and a repeated numbing of pain to avoid the feeling_

_Of weakness. Leaving us only bound together by one _

_Commonality in the fate we share. In our world, not knowing_

_exactly what we are supposed to do is half the fun of just living. _

_Pre-defining yourself can only lead to an inability to realize the truth. So often we _

_Are told that it's best to have a plan, and the guidelines and _

_Goals that are shoved unto us only disallow us to find_

_Ourselves and follow our dreams. Cape Diem, live each day _

_To its full potential. Follow your heart and chase your dreams,_

_Along the way you are bound to find your answer. And to_

_Those who are constantly searching for their answer, believing_

_They can find it through extensive thought and reflection:_

_Stop, go out and act, live your life. You have to accomplish_

_Something before you know what you were put here to do._

"_Done, not bad, could be worse. I think that's enough to show for homework." _I nodded shoving the marked up pages into my bag. "_Time for bed, the only thing more cruel than wasting time would be my inability to sleep in the first place." _As a kid my sleep habits were never particularly good. According to Beverly on behalf of my real mother, I would make a fuss before being put to bed, and many nights I'd lie awake in protest of the action. Never would I have thought that I may regret those decisions, but now, forced into near insomniac habits, only to be comforted by fear inducing nightmares capitalizing my other misgivings I would give anything for the sleep I could have had as a child.

The darkness engulfed my vision as I slowly faded into the quiet state of slumber. My eyes flickered open, a dream? Reality? I couldn't be sure, not just yet. The setting seemed real enough, but that realism is what left me shaking to the sounds of chirping birds and wisps of morning sunlight that cast itself through the small windows that lined the top of the basement wall. Whatever it was, it didn't feel like my usual dreams. I couldn't pinpoint the time, usually my dreams reflect a past event before taking a turn for the worse into completely disheveled chaos. This was somehow different, the setting was unusual, I hadn't been there before. The air was warm, far warmer than a typical summer day on my home island and the sky was clear. There was a gentle breeze that flowed through the air that made the ends of my hair tickle my neck. My hair was cut shorter, reaching just below that base of my chin and seemed at least three shades lighter, I wasn't sure if it was just because of the intense sun reflecting off of unkempt, messy waves that looked as though they hadn't been brushed in days. It had to have been a dream; it had been over a year since I'd last cut my hair and expressed no desire of doing so. The smell of the sea occupied the air around me and a soft mist graced my tanned skin. _"Where am I?" _I thought, but the way I acted made it seem that I was well aware of my situation. I looked out as far as I could, all I could see was the vast ocean before me; nothing else was visible to the naked eye. A rush of fear traveled down my spine "_what's going on?" _I walked across the hard wood beneath me _"where am I going?" _I leaned up against the wooden railing of the ship _"what am I doing aboard a ship?" _the sea was beautiful, just like I thought. The orange sun neared the horizon and the wooden vessel sailed after it.

"Feeling down again?"

"Huh?" I remarked utterly confused by the person standing beside me.

"Are you feeling alright Virginia-chan?"

"Sanji?" I couldn't tell what was going on, he looked much different from how he'd looked before, much more mature looking. _"How many years did I sleep?" _I couldn't come up with a better conclusion, I was in a dream after all, and that's the last thing you'd want to admit to yourself while in a dream.

"What happened at Mariejois couldn't be stopped, just be glad we all escaped with our lives."

"What?"

"Just don't do something that reckless again even if you're only putting yourself in the direct line of danger you should know that your nakama are going to risk their lives for you."

"Sanji, what happ…"

"LAND HO!" someone screamed from the figurehead of the ship

"Luffy?" his voice was no different from what I remembered

"C'mon guys! Let's go to that island!"

"Uh, that one, _*cough* _uh-oh, it looks like I've contracted another case of I-can't-go-to-that-island-itis. What about that one over there, I don't think my disease will act up over there."

"Aw, c'mon Usopp, I thought you were cured of that after we all met up again."

"I am but just look at it Luffy, it's screaming 'stay away!' I can even smell the death from over here."

Luffy let out a loud, obnoxious sigh "Nami, is the log pose reading either of those islands?"

"Yes, there both on course."

"Great, let's go to that one! It looks awesome!"

"Whatever you say, captain." Robin smiled as she got up from the chair where she had been reading. _"When did Robin grow her bangs out? Everyone looks so different, what year is this? What has happened in that time?"_

"Please Luffy, let's go to the other one, look how nice it looks, so calm and picturesque." Usopp begged "Do you realize what hell we just survived, can we please take a break from all the scary islands?"

"But that's no fun!"

"Come on Luffy, please!" Chopper begged coming up from the lower deck.

"Ugh, does everyone want to go to the boring island?"

"Yes!" Most of the crew resounded, except for Zoro who was passed out in the crow's nest and Sanji and I who couldn't see either island from out vantage point.

"Fine then, Nami, take us there!"

"On it" she said walking up the stairs to get a better view of the islands. Involuntarily I went to join her "_damn, Nami's hair got really long, and we all look so much older. Speaking of which, I wonder what I look like." _I distracted myself with the thought for a moment. _"How old are we even?" _So many questions fluttered through my mind. It was quite an unexplainable dream. "Hmm…" Nami sighed staring at the log pose on her wrist _"I've never seen a log pose like that before, why does it have three needles?" _

"Is anything the matter, Nami?"

"Not really it's just this needle seems to be moving much more than this one, and this is the one pointed towards the island we're headed to."

"What does that mean?"

"It just means that this one is less stable than that one, but it looks so much more peaceful. The log pose must be wrong." She concluded

"Don't doubt your eyes on this sea" I said without even thinking.

"I'm sure everything's fine right, the entire New World can't be like what we've seen, there has to be peace somewhere, right?"

"_New World, what in god's name is she talking about, how did we get to the New World?" _My mind was in complete shock, yet my face remained unsurprised, as if the fact had already been known.

We docked on the foreign land on a beach of white sand. _"Nami was right, how could a place like this be dangerous?" _Luffy excitedly ran past the sand dunes and up the side of an emerald green, velvet hill.

"C'mon everyone, let's go exploring!" He sang to all of us, still at the base of the ship. "Hurry up, it's gonna be late!"

"That's right, then why are we even getting off the ship?"

"It's Luffy, what did you expect?"

"True, we may as well abandon sleep completely and go adventuring all night."

"Maybe that wouldn't be so bad." I laughed

"Hurry up!" Our captain called to us eager to begin running into whatever town this island held.

We all caught up to Luffy and began our trek into civilization. We came over the hill and crossed through a small grove, each tree adorned with a different symbol _"why does that writing look so familiar?" _ I asked myself trying to get a better look. After we passed through the grove the town came into view. What we saw was drastically different from what we'd expected.

"What happened here?" Luffy asked.

* * *

**A/N: **Okay, so, I'll actually translate the Spanish this time since I guess the dialogue is a bit more important than in the pervious times. "Hello, why weren't you in class yesterday? I don't think that you were sick." "No, I wasn't, I was working with Mr. Shanks." "Is that right?" "Yes, and Law was there too." "Oh, and Mr. Law likes art?" "No, not really, but he was helping us because he's my friend." "it's not good that you are telling me lies, miss" "but I would never sir" "Ah, and where is Law now, he's not in class today either." "I don't know, I saw him yesterday after school, but we haven't talked today, and he didn't tell me anything about not being here today." "then the next time you see give him these." "Yes Mr. Donquixote" then he goes on to explain something about an actual Spanish concept. It's not important to the story, it was just so I can show that it's like an actual school still. I spent entirely too much time on that snarky paper I had her write. I wish that we could be assigned something like that, I would love to pull something like that. But I could never, I'd be too afraid of failing it. =P

another dream. yes, I decided to take a different approach with this one so it didn't get too redundant.

I don't own One Piece


	34. Chapter 34: The Hope for the Future

"What happened here?" Luffy asked, stull planning on continuing into the war-torn city.

"What do you think you're doing?" Usopp asked frantically.

"Exploring" Our optimistic captain replied without even stopping to turn around and face Usopp.

"Luffy, don't you see that town, it looks as though it was just hit by a seaquake, does that really seem like the place that you should be exploring?"

"You're the one who wanted to come here, I wanted to go to the green fire island, but you all said no." Luffy protested "So let's investigate!"

"Now Luffy, let's not be hasty, we don't even know what's happened here shouldn't we… Virginia, where are you going?" Usopp called to me. I had begun walking myself towards the ruins of the city without even thinking. "Virginia, stop, why do you keep going off on your own? It's too dangerous, you can't keep this up. We know you have other goals you wish to accomplish but lately you've been far too reckless for your own good."

"What happened while we were separated, or is this still about Mariejois?" I surely couldn't answer that, I didn't even have a clue what year we were in, let alone what had happened in the time that passed.

"Virginia, stop!" Usopp screamed again, but my feet continued to carry me further towards the city. "What made you change? You never used to act like this before. We've explained it to you before, the Mariejois Incident couldn't be prevented, it had nothing to do with you in the first place and you had no business getting yourself involved. There was nothing you could have done alone, and even with our combined powers there was little that we would have accomplished."

"_Well, maybe if I knew what the hell you were talking about. What had even transpired in Mariejois, what had I even been doing there, what would have possessed me to go?" _No matter my disdain for the World Nobles I wouldn't be one to up and challenge the Celestial Dragons, I may have been hardheaded and persistent, but I wasn't by any means stupid. I knew that alone I was not match for the entire governing body along with the navy. Going up against them, especially in the ignorant state I was in, would only end in defeat. Even though I would have thoroughly enjoyed every moment of opposition, no matter how brief, the consequences were far too great

"Come on guys, let's go!" Luffy shouted, taking off in full speed into the shattered remains of the town.

"But Luffy…" Usopp whined

"Captain's orders" Robin concluded and we all took off, at a much slower pace, into the town after Luffy.

"_What is it about this place that feels so familiar" _I wondered as we crossed through the mountains of charred rubble of the once buildings.

"What do you think happened here?" Sanji asked

"I don't know, but I think we can conclude that it was no work of nature." I responded

"Then what, no human could have caused such extensive damage single handedly."

As we walked further the effects of the damage became much more apparent. The lifeless bodies of the town's inhabitants lined the streets, crushed under the remnants of the wooden structures, mere collateral for whatever had overtaken this place not too long before.

"Pirates." A weakened voice moaned. "If you've come for this town's riches your too late. Every last bit of it has been extracted and made off with."

"Sir, what happened here?" Noticing the man whose body was half crushed underneath what used to be one of the buildings. "Reflect." I muttered and cleared the debris off of his shattered body _"When did I learn how to do that? I could never control static objects like that before."_ He was in bad shape, it was evident he couldn't walk and judging by the tremendous amount of blood loss he wouldn't be conscious for much longer, and without medical attention there was no doubt he'd be dead by nightfall. "Luffy, get him to the ship so Chopper can operate. Sanji, Robin, come with me. We'll look for any other survivors. Zoro, Franky, begin clearing the rest of the debris from the area, there may be some other people trapped under the buildings we may be able to save. Brook, go back to the ship with Luffy and Chopper. Be ready to offer assistance to either of them, especially Chopper. Do whatever he needs you to do in order to keep this man alive; he may be out only key to unlocking what happened here. Nami, Usopp, search the perimeter of the island for any clues as to who might have done this. Report anything that may be of interest back to us. Do anything you possibly can to uncover any trace of information. Even the smallest of leads may break the case."

"No stop!" the man spoke in an almost inaudible whisper. His voice was shaken with fear as he clung onto the last thread of his life. "You can't be here, you must leave."

"Why sir, what happened?"

"If word of what you are doing were to get out you'd all be in danger. They'll return for sure."

"Who are 'they' sir? Do you remember?"

"Please, please…" he begged "Just get out of here!"

"What happened here sir, please you can tell us. We'll help you."

"Please, just get out!"

"Luffy, Chopper, Brook, get him to the ship, now!"

"But he's…"

"I don't care what he says; you have to try to save him. There may be other people still alive on this island. We have to do our best to rescue as many as we possibly can. This may be the only way." Luffy nodded and began to carry the man off to the ship for treatment. "Oh, and Luffy, make sure you man the baby den den mushi, if we need you help you'll have to be within reach so we can access you quickly." I ordered, taking charge of the situation. If no one else was going to step up I would have to. _"Gee, isn't that great, I must be a pirate with morals here." _

We set off on our various tasks. I was still utterly confused by the entire situation. Thoroughly convinced that I was in a dream. It was almost as if I were watching a movie, yet in the movie as well. I saw everything from my own perspective but I had no idea what the context was. "How could someone have done so much damage? Set aside the physical ability, where are your common ethics?" I asked while scouring the rubble for any others who may have survived.

"If Chopper's able to save him he could be a very valuable source of information to us." Robin noted

"The most I'm hoping for is his stability; or something of that nature; and soon. If we can get an account of what happened from a primary source we'd have a much easier time discerning its cause."

"Why do we always have to involve ourselves in everything?" Usopp called "Can't we just say 'this situation doesn't concern us, let's just leave and forget we ever saw it' Why can't we do that from time to time?"

"Once we witness something it does become of our concern. Ignorance it one thing, but deliberately choosing not to act in such a curtail situation like this is another." Usopp scowled and returned to his give task.

Before we could find any other survivors my mind flashed black for a moment. _"This just has to be a dream" _when my vision returned I was in what was presumably in infirmary on the ship.

"How's his condition, Chopper?" Robin asked

"He's doing better; he seems to have calmed down a lot, but not enough for us to let our guard down. His condition is still critical. I had to set both of his legs, there's nothing I can do about his three broken ribs, and I've begun to give him a blood transfusion. He should come to shortly. But there's nothing I can do about all the emotional suffering he has."

"But he's alive, right?" I interrupted

"Yes but I don't think you should …"

"Excellent, tell Sanji to prepare him a good meal, I'll deal with him from here."

"But Virginia, he's in no condition to be reliving those traumatic events. He's in a very fragile state."

"I have no choice."

"Wouldn't you lover be upset with you for disrupting a patient during their time of recovery?"

A scowl spread across my face _"The fuck is he talking about?" _Despite the warnings I entered the man's room. He was lying on the bed completely unobservant of the world happening around him, yet his chest would rise and fall at a normal pace. His face was pale and blank. In fact, the only fact that lead me to believe he was still alive was the rhythm of his vitals working coherently once again. _"Don't disturb him." _I told myself _"the surgeon would not be pleased." _The lack of control I had over my thoughts and action alike scared me. I didn't even know what I was saying. The thoughts made no sense to the part of me that had been convinced I was dreaming but seemed so second nature and automatic to the other part. I pulled up a chair and sat down waiting for the man to wake up.

"Why have you not heeded my warning? You're all in danger here; they'll be back, just like they always have before."

"Who?"

"You can't know."

"If you tell me then we can help; but I have to know who did this and what happen or our efforts to help will have been for naught. So please, sir, tell me everything you remember."

"I can't ma'am; they'll come and kill me like they've done to many countless others."

"We won't let them, I promise."

"You don't know how strong they were, they came in and took over everything without even breaking a sweat."

"We'll help you, but you have to tell us everything you know."

"I just can't" he murmured in that loudest voice he could manage.

"Please, you have to tell me! Please Law, I can help you!" I immediately covered my mouth after what I had shouted.

"Excuse me?"

"On, nothing, it was just a slip of the tongue."

"Ma'am, what did you call me?"

"Never mind it, I didn't mean anything by it, he was just an old…friend."

"Oh, I see, someone you left behind?"

"No!" I retorted defiantly.

"Hmm, then what's causing you erratic behavior, is there something you regret?"

"Perhaps there is."

"Then why don't you go back? If there's someone out there who's important in your life you can't take them for granted."

"I know that but…wait, isn't about me here, my past doesn't concern the state of distress that is plaguing your country."

"I'm sorry ma'am; I didn't mean to bring anything up. It's just I can tell that there is something on your mind."

"Don't try to change the subject. Listen, I know you're afraid, and for a good reason, but you have to trust us. Tell me what has happened here."

The man sighed "You shouldn't have come to this island. They've been trying to erase this island from existence for a long time now. The day they came they took everything. We no longer owned anything; we were corralled here like animals, living off of their means subject to their violence. They took the able bodied men, young women, and children with them and sold them into slavery. They left the feeble ones and those who opposed them here. My wife and my two sons were among those taken into slavery. Once they had removed everything and anything of value they began to demolish the city. We tried to stop them but there were too many of them, and they were all too strong. Our government tried it's best to reason with them but they wouldn't listen to them. Our king has been arrested and is awaiting his execution. And our queen was taken into slavery with the other women. It was the only term our king was able to negotiate. We were left here, powerless. They just kept coming back and bombarding our country with more vicious attacks. We don't know what we did to deserve this; we are a peace loving people! If he catches word of your presence he'll be back even sooner. You must leave at once!"

"We're not leaving"

"Ma'am, I beg you, please, hear me!"

"We're going to fight whoever did this to you and your country, beat them, help rebuild your city, and even try to rescue the people who were taken in as slaves."

"Do you know how dangerous that is? Some of our people are slaves to the World Nobles."

"That doesn't change anything. There's still good for nothing bastards dehumanizing people. They just don't get in trouble for it." Besides, we've already declared war on the World Government a long time ago, and I have my own issues I have yet to settle with them."

The man was silent for a moment as he stared at me "You wouldn't happen to be the girl from the Mariejois Incident, now would you?"

"Why?"

"Of course, I should have known, you and the rest of that rookie crew you're a part of would have sought refuge in the New World."

I couldn't respond. I didn't know what to say. I had no idea what I had even been saying for the past minutes, it was nothing but nonsensical gibberish that seemed understood in this time. _"When am I?" _ I wondered _"please let this be a dream. I have no idea what's going on."_

"Ma'am is everything alright? You look distraught, are you ill ma'am?" The man asked but I could barely hear him over the thoughts running through my mind.

"Virginia, Virginia, are you okay? What's going on?" Chopper burst into the room.

"Is she okay?" The man asked. I hadn't said anything in a while; I was lost in my own head.

"Virginia, you should rest. I think you've gotten enough information; we'll try to find anything else out. Nami and Usopp will be back soon and we'll see what they've found." Chopper explained, pushing me out of the infirmary and into a chair in the deck of the ship. As I was sitting on the deck I noticed a figure off in the distance. It was a ship. As it approached I could see it was flying a black flag, the mark was unrecognizable to me. _"A pirate ship?"_

Before the dream could continue any further I suddenly sprung up in my bed. _"What was all that about?" _I wondered as I looked around my familiar room. I reached my hand up and touched my hair, still a long mix of blond and brunette curls. Whatever that overly detailed dream was trying to tell me was a mystery, and I was too agitated to worry about figuring that out.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Law's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

It was three in the morning and I was just getting to bed. I had been up the majority of the night with my mother. Nothing was helping her, what she desperately needed was rest. If she were to try to get up and work like she would like to there would be no chance of her ever getting better, and her recovery was key to the sanity of our family, we'd all been through so much. I'd have to be around to take care of her. No one else could, Jay-Jay was far too young, and everyone else was either in college or working, I couldn't ask them to step away from that, Chase spent enough time away from university to help than he should have been. I'd have to take full responsibility.

I walked back to the bedroom I shared with Jay-Jay, careful not to wake him up, I didn't need anything else to go wrong tonight. I should have been more tired, but my now my body was prone to living off of menial sleep. It had been a long time since I was able to consistently sleep well. _"Virginia, where are you, are you well?" _I was thinking about her again. I hated that I couldn't stop it. She was a good friend, different from anyone else. Even though I'd only just met her I felt so connected to her. I loved her.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry this dream took so long to get through. And yes, like a lot of you guys have been guessing it's supposed to foreshadow the future. No, none of that has happened yet. Feel free to draw any conclusions. I pretty much have it planned out, well the basic plot anyway, but if you couldn't guess it's many years in the future so it won't happen for a while. And then of course I gotta end it with a reprieve with Law's perspective.

I'm so sorry this chapter is so late. To be honest I wasn't going to put one up today but I got to typing it and I could stop and thus this happened.

I do not own One Piece


	35. Chapter 35: Each Passing Day Part 1

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Virginia's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

I continued the next morning in my usual fashion, ignoring the completely outlandish dream I had the previous night. There was no point in trying to decipher it; I barely understood what was happening while it was going on, what would have made me think that I would now all of a sudden understand everything that had occurred. No. That's just not the way things work. I completed my morning routine of waking up, getting dressed and having breakfast and filed out the door for school. Again, the same as the morning before Law wasn't at his locker. The same sense of worry engulfed my body. _"I care too much about him" _I sighed, not understanding how I could feel so differently about him than I had about anyone else before. _"I can't let myself get too close to him; I can't go through the same thing I went through with Roslind. It was just too much and I can't let it happen again. I can't allow myself to be on such terms as I was with her, ever again. It will only lead to another pain in my chest." _There was no way around it. I had already gotten too close to Law for my own liking, and I was the only one to blame for that. I could blame him, the kid had his own personal hells he had to get himself through, excuse him for wanting support from the one person who offered it to him. No, I couldn't possibly blame him.

I went through the rest day sans Law, again. I couldn't help but spend the rest of the day on a completely different plane, one that was completely engulfed in a repetitive thought process laced with apprehension. I had nearly disengaged myself entirely from the events of that day. I was barely able to summarize what had happened my mind had been so aloof. I returned to my house after school that day, still dazed. _"What have I been doing to myself? To concerned with the wellbeing of another, I need to worry about myself too. There's nothing wrong. If there was he would have told you. You know that. Stop worrying!" _I tried to convince myself. But I'm not the most shakable person when it came to my opinions.

"What the hell are you doing?" the shrill voice of my caregiver snapped as I came into my house once again.

"Coming home, the school day has ended; they typically do at this time."

"Don't speak to me like that you fucking brat!"

"I'm sorry, what's this about?"

"Don't give me that!" She continued to shout.

Seeing as I wasn't going to get an answer from her I decided just to walk away, there was no need for me to endure that any longer.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Going to my room. You may own the rights to this place but you didn't pay one fucking cent for it. As far as I'm concerned it's more mine than it is yours."

"Not a chance, your rotten mother left it to me so she wouldn't have to deal with you. This is my pay off for all the shit you've put me through. As far as I'm concerned that bitch got the better end of the stick."

"Shut up Beverly."

"I'm only telling you the truth."

"Whatever." I murmured and slammed the basement door shut. I didn't need any more of her unnecessary harassment today; I had enough troubles on my mind. And on top of everything else I had probably spent the entire day looking like a junkie going through withdrawal and heading for a relapse. I laid on my bed, consumed by my own thoughts. There was more that bothered me than him just not being there. There was more to it but I couldn't possibly comprehend it. It was everything about him and how he made me feel. There was nothing I could do about it.

The next day started off the same. I felt sick to my stomach with all the anxiety I was facing. It heightened when again, there was no sign of Law at school. I sighed wishing that I hadn't woken up that morning as I headed off into my usual routine I would have followed just like any normal day. With my hands in my pockets and my eyes to the ground I knew I was overly stressed about the situation.

"Is everything alright?" A familiar voice asked

"Yeah, I'm fine Kid."

"You don't look it." He said in a less than sympathetic voice.

"Nothing's wrong." I growled back, this wasn't the conversation I needed to get into right now, especially not with him. Before the next moment had passed he had grabbed my shoulders within his strong hands and was forcing me to look up at him. He towered over me, at least a foot taller, if not more.

"Did Trafalgar do anything to you?" He snarled, his eyes burning with anger as he asked me. That was exactly the question I didn't want him to ask. What was I supposed to say? Yes? No, he wouldn't have taken that well. No? No, he would have known I was lying.

"Nothing happened."

"What did he do? I'll kill him."

"Nothing, please, don't!"

"Tell me or so help me god I'll find him and break every last fucking bone in his fragile little body." I knew Kid well enough to know that he could be nice, when he wanted to be. But he my no means was all talk. If he said something there was a good chance that the thought of his course of action had already made its way into his one-track mind, and unless you could give him a reason odds are he'd set that plan into motion in his next opportunity.

"Please Kid, nothing happened, I promise." I wasn't lying, right? After all we had only kissed once. It was only a kiss right? Meaningless.

"Then what the hell happened?" He asked still looking over as if there'd be any physical signs he would find.

"I'm just worried, that's all."

"About what?"

"_Don't make me spell it out for you, you know damn well" _"No one."

He sighed and released his hold on my shoulders but the anger still consumed his eyes. "He's fine, he does this all the time."

"What?"

"Trafalgar, sometimes he just doesn't show up. Don't know where the hell he goes or what the hell he does but sometimes he's just a no show, even more than me. Once last year he went almost a whole month without coming in one day, I heard that Sengoku had to drag him back here himself."

"A whole month?" _"What could possibly have been so wrong? That doesn't sound like Law, I hope everything's alright."_

"Don't worry about him, nothing's ever wrong, he just doesn't wanna come in, it's pretty obvious he hates it here."

"He's been through a lot, it's just projected anger."

"That's no fucking excuse." Kid growled. I guess I couldn't blame him, someone who was going through what he was going through right now wouldn't want to hear about some other guys problems, no matter how bad, if he was here carrying on like normal.

"I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't be wasting your time worrying about him. He's jaded by now and he doesn't care enough about anyone or anything, and he thinks whatever happened to him gives him rights to be a jerk to everyone."

"Kid, are you okay? You seem worse today, did something happen?"

"Yeah, Trafalgar's been dicking around with a person he has no right to taking advantage of like that."

"Kid, it's not like that at all…"

"And it's pissing me off."

"Kid, why do you hate Law so much, did he ever do anything to you?"

"I don't hate him. It just pisses me off how he thinks that whatever shit he's going through given him an excuse to act like a whiney bitch, like people should just automatically sympathize with him, offer him a shoulder to cry on and tell him 'everything's gonna be alright' It's like he thinks we all haven't gone through something."

"But sometimes that's exactly what you need."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"He was only like that because no one was there to help him. You'll always need other people. That's something I hadn't quite realized until I got here. No matter how firmly you deny it you'll always need the help of someone else. Just someone there to encourage you and to help you get through something can make a world of difference."

"That's bullshit; I've spent my entire life without anyone there for me. I think I turned out alright."

"I'm here for you too Kid, you don't need to feel that way. I didn't have very many people standing behind me until I got here, and that's when I learned just how vital that human interaction can be."

"What are you saying?"

"I don't want you to feel like that anymore. I don't want you to ever have to say something like that again. Just because you've been exposed to that kind of hate doesn't mean you need to continue the cycle. I'll be here to help you if you ever need me. I can't stand to see people treated the way your parents treated you, especially by the very people who are supposed to give life and limb for you."

With neither a response nor a warning I felt his body pressed tightly up against mine. He was so warm and comforting, the kind that reassured me that there was still some good left in him. Something he hadn't given up on. It was the kind that juxtaposes that of Law who was surrounded by cold. Maybe not physically to the touch, at least not everywhere, though a considerably lower temperature than Kid, but the feelings he projected upon others whom he'd interact with. Maybe it was that Law had really lost all hope. Bringing him back from that wouldn't be easy, especially with his unwillingness to open up about anything, which made him increasingly standoffish and unapproachable. The very fact that he and I had such a good relationship was endearing in that I felt like I may be able to help him after all.

"You're too good." He said

"What?"

"You're too good to everyone else, you always worry about them. I don't know why. I just can't figure you out. Even after the hell you've walked through you still stand here and try to make everyone else's life better. I don't get you."

"Maybe that's just what I need to do to make myself feel better. I know that there's little I can do to redeem what I've lost, so I have to make up for it in other ways. Seeing that I can help someone in any way is what makes me feel better, even if just a little. At least it numbs the pain."

"You need someone too." He whispered tightening his arms around me. "And since Trafalgar's not gonna return what you've tried to do for him I'll make sure that spot is filled."

"Kid I…" I couldn't think of what to say. That was the kindness I remembered. The kindness I'd seen when I first got to know him. He was different from Law. Much different. Neither were apt to showing their emotions, but Kid would open up and tell you what was wrong. Law would rather walk away from the situation, and has done many times. That's usually when he's most vulnerable. This was like one of those times with Law.

The bell rang and I knew I should have left. I knew I would get into a lot of trouble with Dr. Sakazuki for being late, but I just didn't want to leave Kid. I was content, more content than I had been in the last couple of days. So I stayed. Any sort of punishment Dr. Sakazuki could give me was well worth it.

* * *

**A/N: **Hee hee, you're all going to hate me aren't you. I'm bringing Kid in now just to complicate things. But won't Law be cute all jealous? Don't worry, I think you're all going to like the out come of everything (will probably be revealed soon if everything goes as planned.) I will also expand the thing with Beverly in due time; things will come together on that whole scenario.

I don't own One Piece


	36. Chapter 36: Each Passing Day Part 2

We stayed there a little while longer, paying no mind to the troupes of people hustling to their classes. The halls continued to clear as the time remaining in the passing period dwindled. We waited there together in the modestly lit hallway; completely void of any natural light from the enclosed walls of the inner halls of the brick building; until the second bell rang signifying that we should have already been in our first hour classes instead of socializing, even if there wasn't much actual communication occurring. It was different from the silence Law and I would share. We were never apt to communicate verbally, but somehow we knew exactly what we were saying. Everything was quite different with Law. The silence with Kid was just plainly and simply silence. There was no source of communication what so ever. Maybe I was the one who wasn't trying.

"Where are you going?" He finally asked, interrupting the silence.

"World studies with Dr. Sakazuki." I groaned

"Sucks to be you." He sneered back

"So you've heard of him?"

"Everyone has, he's the only one who teaches that class ever since Mr. Ray got fired, er, 'left' last year."

"Really, what happened?"

"No one really knows, well no one who's willing to talk knows anything, but the marines even got involved, they came here and everything, it must have been pretty serious, but I can imagine their faces when they got here and he was already gone!"

"What did he do?"

"I already told you, I don't fucking know. But from what I've heard some other teacher here tipped him off and told him to leave before the marines could come for him."

"Really?"

"Yeah, then Dr. Sakazuki took over the class. He originally taught advanced geology, but the class was so small that they dropped it completely from the curriculum and gave all the students who had been enrolled in the course a study hall in its place. They needed the world studies position filled and Sakazuki was the only one with the necessary qualifications to teach it."

I shrugged "I'm sure whoever that other teacher was would have been preferable to this bastard. I don't care what he did to get himself fired and or wanted by the navy, Sakazuki shouldn't be a teacher. Period."

"He was, whatever happened doesn't really matter though, all that matters is that we're all stuck with **him** now."

"Are you in his class?"

"Nah, took it last year, had him for half the year though."

"Lucky, I wasn't even here last year so it's not my fault I didn't take it then." I pouted.

"Right, you went to that damn genius school before you came here."

"That's not my fault either. I didn't choose to go there; I was forced into going there by my god awful guardian."

"So you're saying you wish you could have just gone here in the first place?"

"I wasn't saying that either. I hated Ember, I will never deny that fact, but there were many reasons I stayed there. Had I desired to go here then I would have done so earlier. I, in all actuality, didn't even know about this place specifically before I was told I was going here, I just knew it as the public school that everyone at Ember thinks they're better than."

"Would you still be there now if you hadn't been forced to leave and come here?" he asked with a partly sad and partly angry look on his face.

"To be perfectly honest, yes. As I said before I didn't even know anything about this school before. I had no intention on coming here, in fact when I was told I was going to be attending this school I was freaking out."

"Oh, I take that as you wish you could go back then."

"No, I like what I have here; the human relations."

"Like the kind you have with Trafalgar?" He growled.

"Stop suggesting things, you already know that nothing's going on between Law and I, don't you trust me?"

He raised his eyebrow and sighed "Hmm, well…"

"And here I thought we were friends." my voice bounced sarcastically.

"Would it sound too fucking cliché if I said I trusted you but not him?"

"Yes, yes it would because it's saying the same thing way." He narrowed his eyes not liking the response to his sort of jocular question which was, in truth, also serious in another light. "You knew what I meant, why would you take it in that direction? How times am I going to have to tell you that Law and I are just friends?"

He sighed loudly as a vein popped on his forehead. He was pissed. "I don't know" He groaned. That wasn't what he really wanted to say, I could tell, but it was what he had to say. What he had probably wanted to say went something along the lines of: _"Until Trafalgar stays the fuck away." _or something like _"However many fucking minutes for your life has he wasted?"_

"You know what I mean. The human relations, the ones I have with you and everyone else, yes including Law but on no different level from anyone else." He starred back angrily, still not convinced "If something were going on you'd be able to tell."

"Oh yeah, and how, am I supposed to fucking read you or are you gonna fucking tell me?"

"Because he'd either be here or I wouldn't!" I snapped. It was true right? If Law and I had been anything more than just good friends I would've hoped that he'd want me to be with him while he was sick, or at least know what was going on. And if he wasn't sick like Kid was accusing I would think that he'd want to be here. It made sense, well enough sense for thinking on your feet.

That answer shut him, either because he believed it or he saw right through it. "Those relationships I have with all of you guys are important to me, I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. I look at this whole event as a positive now. Sure there are things that I'd like to utilize at Ember but those things worth less than the bonds formed ever since I got here."

"Well that's good then, because I look at you coming here as a positive." He mumbled almost so I was unable to hear him. "Well, we should get going. I've made you late enough, for that I'll walk you to your class." He declared with a wide grin as he linked our arms before taking off.

"No, Kid, you need to get to your class too, where are you going?"

"Gym"

"But aren't you in my gym period?"

"I flunked out of it one semester last year and refused to go to summer school."

"Enlighten me, how does one fail gym?" Is it really that hard of a class? I'm no expert on it, this is my first time ever having it…"

"Okay, we get it, you're new to this whole public education thing, you don't need to keep telling us."

"Sheesh, sorry. Anyway, as I was saying, is it really that hard of a class? We barely do anything, just show up and get dressed and pretend like you're participating. That's about it. Well, that's all I've been doing, and that seems to be the same for the rest of the kids in our class."

"Yeah, I didn't really show up last year."

"Why would you do that?"

"Why don't you ask your little MIA buddy? I'm sure all the days he's missed are doing wonders for his 'high marks'" I paused for a moment. Damn him for being right.

"Law isn't off the hook either" I laughed, however Kid remained serious "oh come on, lighten up mister!" I joked playfully trying to get him to break that malicious frown engraved into his face.

"Let's go." He groaned, taking my hand. "I'm bringing you to your class now."

"Fine" I sighed "But go to gym, if you don't pass we won't be in the same grade next year. That wouldn't be any fun, and besides, I couldn't be seen with someone younger than me." I sneered

"I wouldn't be younger than you." He reminded me.

"Maybe not in age but we'd be graduating a different year; it'd be too embarrassing to be seen with you." I mussed up his shaggy red hair.

"You'd still talk to me." He said grabbing me other hand and pulling it away from his hair.

I pouted a little but decided not to argue it since he was probably right.

He walked me all the way across the school and up the stairs to my classroom. "Wish me luck with Sakazuki.' I sighed rolling my eyes.

"Just tell him why the marines are so great, that's how I got a B in his class."

"I'm not going to lie like that. Not because it's wrong but because I cannot, will not ever say that." My voice was completely serious and Kid could tell that. He quickly dropped the subject and saw me off.

By some rare stroke of good fortune when I opened the door to the classroom the pleasant looking green-haired woman who worked at the bookstore was standing in front of the class.

"Are you Virginia?" she asked when I walked in.

"Um, yes ma'am."

"Great, then we're all here today. Please have a seat Miss Virginia. My name is Miss. Makino, I will be filling in for Dr. Sakazuki for the rest of the week she explained and resumed her lesson. _"Why couldn't it have been Monday?" _Her lesson was an actual lesson out of the book, the first we'd gotten this year, or at least since I had been there which was a nice change up from the traditional Sakazuki-style lecture.

The class ran smoothly without any yelling, threatening or blaming. _"I'm going to enjoy these next two days." _I thought

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*Kid's Perspective*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

I had to walk her to her class. What the hell kind of person would I look like if I hadn't? It was just fucking gym anyway what the hell was it teaching me anyway? I frowned and continued my walk back around the entire school. Sure her classroom was out of my way, in fact so much so that I had to back track completely and go the opposite direction from where we started but that didn't matter, she was more interesting that gym anyway. _"I hope I wasn't smiling like a fucking moron the entire time." _I thought, still pissed about her newfound fondness for Trafalgar. _"That fucking bastard, he's just trying to screw with my head. He has some serious problems, always feeling way too damn sorry for himself" _I continued the thought. I couldn't help it; I knew that there was more than she was telling me. I couldn't stand it. "_What was so great about him anyway? He doesn't really care about her. If he does anything to hurt her he'll be fucking sorry. And it's not like he needs anymore sympathy. I don't care what she says. We've all had some shitty experiences but that's no reason to be a whiney bitch about it" _His entre way about him irked me. He got under my skin too much, and far more ever since she got here. He pissed me off to a near unbearable point; I couldn't understand why she'd want to spend so much goddamn time with him. Especially by how adamantly she denied everything.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Virginia's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

I went through the rest of that day as one would expect, in the new normal, one void of Law. After math Kid had insisted that he needed more tutoring and that I help him after school. I didn't really want to help him without Law being there but this was for Kid's grade, and that was far more important than my thoughts, feelings, or preferences. We'd be meeting after school and walking to his house from there since a certain blonde infested my house and would prevent us from working since she rendered the house uninhabitable for us mere humans. His house was bigger and there would be fewer distractions, presuming his parents still had not returned home, but I wasn't holding my breath on any of it. _"Kid would have said something if his parents had gotten back home, at least I would think he would."_ I thought.

After the day concluded I went back to my lonely locker to gather my things and again outside to wait for Kid on the steps where Law and I had done so before.

"Ready?" I asked gesturing for him to hurry up.

"Yeah, did you get out of cheerleading practice for this?"

"What?"

"Don't you guys have practice almost every day?"

"Shit."

"Why don't you hurry and get back, we can do this some other time."

"No, no, I promised you. Why don't you come with me to practice and just watch and we can study after that, if you have enough time."

"What else would I be doing?" He reminded.

"Alright then, come on, you can just sit in the stands and watch, sorry it's outside and a little cold."

"Don't feel bad for me." He laughed

"What do you mean?"

"You get to wear that little uniform in this weather, and it only gets colder."

"Thanks." I frowned, as if that damn outfit wasn't bad enough, I almost forgot about how cold the fall can get here. Did the school really not plan that out ahead of time?

"Don't worry, I can keep you warm."

"Um…"

"Kidding" he said defensively "But really, we're going to my house afterwards, it's warmer there than out on the field."

"Uh, sure."

"Well, don't you have a practice to be getting to?"

* * *

**A/N: **I know, I know, it's been a (Super!) long time since I've posted. I'm sorry! (thank you Bepo and Franky for your help with that) I'd like to say it won't happen again but I'm busy during the week, trust me, I'd rather be doing this. I have a few in reserve now so that's good, maybe I'll be able to get them up a bit more regularly now, I hope so. I am always working on it, I just can never get a suitable amount done in one sitting. So enough of my rambling. Still a bit more with this part with Kid, just as build up for later events. Don't worry everyone Law will come back. (and so will his adorable family. I still need to name half of his brothers. I sure made progress -_-) Kid failing gym. Kind of a satire of anyone who actually fails gym, and trust me I know people who have done so. and of course I had to bring Rayleigh into the mix, I couldn't make him a teacher because of Roger and all that, Sakazuki wouldn't be happy (he probably is the reason Mr. Ray got fired! damn you Sakazuki!) so I made him a reference to a future sub-plot. He will come in, mark my words. Little argument about Law. I didn't think it was possible to swear that much.

As always I do not own One Piece, only my OC's.


	37. Chapter 37: Each Passing Day Part 3

"Come on!" I urged, pulling him by the arm back into the school and directing him up the stairs.

"Where the hell are you going, I thought you had practice?"

"Yeah, I do, but I have to get my stupid uniform I so geniusly left in my locker."

"Why?"

"Because I brought it here earlier this week knowing I'd need for practice later this week and forgot about it. Yeah, yeah, don't say anything about it mister."

"But won't you need it for tomorrow, or did you also forget that there's a game?"

"Ah, great, thanks for fucking reminding me about that, now I have to go another day wearing that wonderful thing."

"Now just where would you be without me to help you?" He smirked

"Hmm, I don't know, probably somewhere with my tongue halfway down Law's esophagus." I replied far too naturally.

"What?"

"Kidding, geez, can't you take a joke Kiddo?" he muttered something under his breath in response. Clearly he was not amused by my little joke, not that anyone would have ever thought he would have been. In fact why I even chose to let those words out of my mouth still makes no sense to me. It was pure stupidity on my part.

"Okay, so I have practice today and tomorrow, and then the game tomorrow as well…" I scheduled in my head

"Shouldn't you already know this shit and have planned accordingly beforehand?"

"Yeah, you'd think I would."

"Didn't they give you a schedule of this crap?"

"When exactly did this turn into my interrogation tape?" he chuckled and allowed his devious grin to spread across his face "oh would you hurry up?" I growled "I'm already going to be late."

He continued to laugh "Well aren't you just peaches and sunshine today."

"Come on!"

"Whatever you say, darling." I groaned, but I was already too far behind schedule to worry about winning this argument. I pulled (as best I possibly could; being that there was a substantial size difference between us) up the stairs after me and I sprinted down the hallway towards my locker.

"How can girls run that fast in shoes like that?"

"What? They're just flats, it's no special skill."

"I don't think I'll ever understand women."

"And that's just how we've intended to be." I smiled, keying in the combination to my locker, grabbing my things and rushing Kid back down the stairs and out the door onto the field behind the school.

"You don't need to be in such a hurry, it's not like you're that late."

"But still late."

"Whatever."

We reached the field where practice was held, the other girls as well as coach Nyon were already out there. "Oh, Virginia, how nice of you to finally join us."

"I'm sorry coach." I said trying not to sound sarcastic; this would not be a good situation to sound like that. I was already late without any excuse.

"What kept you dear?"

"Oh, nothing, I'm sorry, I just had…other things on my mind." I glanced over at Kid, well aware that he was at least partially aware of what I was referring to.

"See coach, she's putting other people before the team!" Hancock whined.

"I said sorry didn't I?"

"Alright you two, that's enough. Please try to get along, we're a team, and if we can't all get along then we will never be able to work together."

"Hmph." She said crossing her arms and looking away from me.

"_Likewise" _I thought.

"Well, it looks as though you've brought us a visitor. I thought we made it clear that boys are not allowed on the team or anywhere near our practices."

"Except for Luffy." Hancock swooned, covering her blushing cheeks with her palms.

"Right, except for Luffy." Coach Nyon rolled her eyes agreeing with Hancock.

"I was never made aware of this." I said candidly. I had never intended on being a part of the team in the first place, I had never read whatever type of cheerleaders rule book there is out there where these things are stated.

"Why would you even bring him here in the first place?"

"I'm helping him with math after this; he's my escort to his house."

"Alright, just this once, but don't do it again."

"Fine."

"But we better do extra well at the game tomorrow night."

"Sure." I agreed, was there any other response in that situation?

"Okay then ladies, I have a few announcements to make before we change and begin out practice for today. First off, it's just a reminder for all you newcomers, that tomorrow is a game day so you are to wear your uniforms during the school day. Secondly, as you know next week our school begins to prepare for homecoming. Student council will be decorating all next week, as cheerleaders you are required to help with that. While on the subject you also are to participate in the spirit weeks which takes place the week before homecoming, now that is not next week, it is the week after, but this is just to let you know ahead of time to plan accordingly. Lastly, the homecoming dance is September 28th, after the game. I urge you all to attend, but you do not have to. As you know there is a half day of school that day, then the football game takes place in the afternoon, which, as I am sure you can figure out, you do need to attend, and then the dance is that same night. It would well worth your while to go to the dance as well, but you do not have to."

"_Great."_ I had no desire to go to any school dance as long as I had a say in it. If this dance would be anything like any of the school sponsored functions back at Ember I'd be standing alone, with nothing to do and no one to talk to, listening to the annoying conversations the other students would be having. And then if all that wasn't bad enough we all got one of Rendi's damn public lectures sucking up to the Celestial Dragons, World Government, and marines alike. Not that we had dances at Ember, more like forced public meetings. Well, in hindsight, I guess this dance wouldn't have been like that at all, but it didn't change the fact that I didn't like cramped, overly crowded spaces in which we were supposed to socialize as if it were a normal volume.

"Alright ladies, that's all, you may go change now, but please be quick so we can get to practicing." We all went back into the locker room where we changed into our uniforms. _"Dammit, I forgot how much I hated this thing." _Was my only thought upon changing, and practicing in front of Kid alone would not make the situation any better, of course that's just my rotten luck.

After the practice was over I gathered my things and met up again with Kid. "Ready?" he asked still grinning his manically comforting grin.

"Sure, let's go." We walked down the same route back to his empty house. _"I guess his parents still haven't gotten back yet. Poor Kid."_ I thought. I didn't have my parents at home but at least I had Beverly. Not that she was an enjoyable person to be around but at least she was a living thing I could share the house with. It made me feel less lonely, no matter how much I hated all the times she'd yell at me and tell me she hated me at least it was something. I couldn't imagine being alone every day, coming home, waking up, going to bed, the entire day, alone. I don't know if I'd have been able to survive as long as he has. Especially now. Ever since I made so many friends I've realized how much I actually rely on people. I always felt before that I really didn't need anyone, they were just, sometimes, a nice extra, but ever since I got to that school I've felt differently. "Okay Kid, what exactly do you need my help with?"

"Math."

"Well, I know that, I mean what specific concepts."

"There's more than one?"

"Yes, there always are."

"Then I guess it's pretty clear where I stand on the matter."

"Yes, yes it is" I sighed "So what's the last thing you remember learning?"

"Something about an i number."

"That was the first day Kid, come on, I thought you learned since last time to pay attention."

"It's not that I'm not, I just don't fucking get it. What the hell is even the point of this, numbers that don't exist, what is that going to do for me?"

"I see, you don't like being forced to learn things that don't seem useful, right, and that's why you sort of rebel against them."

"I wouldn't go that far…"

"Don't worry, we all know it's stupid. To be honest you probably aren't going to use most of this in everyday life, but it's just something you've got to get through."

"If it's not going to help us why do they even bother teaching it to us?"

"Hell if I know, you just have to do it and pretend as if there's a point."

"That's fucking stupid."

"I know, I know, but don't blame me. I didn't invent it, nor do I teach it, I just learned it. Now, let's get started, you have a lot of work to make if you want to do well." I began pulling my notebooks out so we could begin.

After an hour or so of plain studying I closed the books and packed up. "I think that's enough for one day. You don't want to overwhelm yourself no do you?"

"Okay, well thanks then." He began "Are you going home then?"

"I don't have to."

"You don't have to stay here if you don't want to."

"No, it's not a problem, I've got nothing better to do and you're here alone."

"Yeah, whatever, don't pity me."

"It's not pity it's sympathy."

"Same thing."

"Different connotation."

"Whatever, do what you want to."

"Fine!" _"Well that was an utterly pointless argument."_

We sat around for a while, not saying much until I finally broke the silence addressing the, so they say, elephant in the room. "So do you think they'll be back?"

"Who?"

"The Roger Pirates, no, you're parents."

"No need to be so feisty, and I don't know, they've been gone a good amount of time. Who knows?"

"Are you okay, you know with being left like this?"

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm okay with it, but I've more of less accepted it."

"I'm sorry."

"Ah, it's not your fault. They've been doing this long before I met you."

"Still, I feel bad; they shouldn't just leave you like that, with no one."

"I guess they figure I'm old enough now."

"You're what, sixteen?"

"Yeah."

"How can they think that's old enough to be left up to your own devices?"

"I don't know, but don't worry, they've always come back, even if it's been awhile, one day they'll be back."

"Kid, now don't take this the wrong way, but if you ever need a place to stay or something I'm sure we, or I, can make room for you at my house, if you need it."

"As long as you don't bring that skinny little prick with you..."

"Law's not living there either, he has a house and a family; there'd be no need and no point."

"I'm just messing with you. But it's not needed; I'll let you know though."

"So where do you think they go?"

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, you've said they've done this before, do you have a clue at all where they might go?"

"No, I'm not told anything, they just get up and go, I guess it's something for my mom's work but I don't know."

"Have you ever wondered?"

"Well of course." He snapped

"Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you."

"Whatever, it's alright. Shouldn't you be getting home now, it's late."

"Oh, you're right."

"Come on, I'll take you…"

"No, I can do it myself."

"No, it's already dark."

"Hey, you wouldn't let me take you home the last time this happened, it's only fair."

"That was different."

"How so?"

"You know why, you're smart enough to figure that out."

"Then tell me."

"It's because you're girl, you know it's not safe."

"I'm perfectly fine thank you very much."

"Fine then go!'

"Thank you."

"What?"

"See you tomorrow, take care, okay." I said hugging him goodbye and walking out his front door. He followed me outside. "What are you doing?"

"I've decided I'm going walk you home anyway."

"Do what you want" I conceited

The walk home was quiet. The scene was dark and rather cold, pretty typical of mid-September.

"Are you really serious about this whole piracy thing?" he asked out of the blue.

"What? Why? Where did you hear that?"

"Killer told me that you said you were."

"Dammit Killer, don't you keep your mouth shut. But if you must know then yes, I hope you're not pissed, but that's not going to change my mind. Why?"

"I'm not pissed. Far from it."

"What do you mean?"

"If I tell you, you have to promise to shut up about it."

"Sure."

"I'm kind of like your enthusiastic friend, I've always wanted to go off to sea, find the One Piece, and prove to everyone that I am capable of doing something worthwhile."

"Then why don't you? Don't you want to accomplish your dreams?"

"Yeah, but I don't have a crew, my friends would never go for that, and don't even think about me joining your little crew, there's no way in hell I could be someone else's subordinate."

"Hmm, well Usopp would never let you join anyway. But why don't you just ask your friend."

"Listen, I know you're new and all but that's not something you can just ask someone."

"I'm new to this school not this world Kid."

"Then you should know why you just don't ask someone that."

"I know, but they're your friends."

"Maybe."

"Well, whatever you decide; make sure you stand by it. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" I repeated as we came to my street and neared my house.

"Oh, okay then." I waved goodbye to him one last time

"You didn't need to walk me home!" I called out before he was out of hearing distance.

I slipped in the house and sought refuge in my room down the stairs so that Beverly would suspect anything.

Before I could get anything else done that night I was greeted by a rather unsuspecting call. _"What do you want, Law?"_

* * *

**A/N: **another really late update, I'm sorry, again, I'm still working on my scheduling. Anyways, here is the third and final part of the 'each passing day' sub-series Tomorrow, there's going to be a 'birthday special' for my favorite dark doctor, now it's not his birthday in the story yet because I am oh so good at prolonging things, but anyway it will all be from Law's perspective and he's going to be talking more about his past and stuff. warning, there will be a considerable amount of Jay-Jay Law fluff. When Law's birthday actually comes in the story it'll be handled a little different, but we're getting there, I promise!

I still do not own One Piece.


	38. Chapter 38: Law's Birthday Update -

_Earlier that same Thursday._

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Law's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Law, you need to go to school, you've already missed two days, you're going to fall behind. Med. School doesn't come easy."

"If I leave you'll be left alone, Chase has to get to college, Jay-Jay's six, Reed has to work since he's our main source of income Caiden got a scholarship; he won't be here until November."

"Oh, that's right, he's going to miss your birthday!"

"Mom, don't get on this again."

"I'm sorry, but you never let me do anything special."

"Because you shouldn't, it's just another day, it's not even my birthday, it's the anniversary of the day I was born, all it means is I'm getting older, not that I need any reminders of that."

"But you're going to be seventeen!"

"Yes, then the next year eighteen, then two years after than twenty, then in no time thirty-nine, and fifty-two and seventy-six and before I know it I'll be dead."

"Now what kind of mindset is that? No son of mine will be thinking that way!"

"Mom."

"No, we're doing something this year."

"Mom, no."

"Yes, your brother can't be here, and you deserve it."

"Mom…"

"We can invite that little girl over and…"

"Ak, Mom, no!"

"Mommy, what girl?" _"Dammit, my screaming woke Jay-Jay up."_

"Oh nothing honey; you're brother's just a little shy, that's all."

"Mom!"

"Is that why nīchan smelled so nice that one day?"

"Mm-hmm" Mom nodded. It was like she enjoyed embarrassing me.

"Nīchan's got a girlfriend, nīchan's got a girlfriend!" He chanted.

"It's not nice to spread rumors about people."

"But I got factual evidence!" he retorted, put his hands on his hips, and smirked at me. The kid smirked at me. I wonder where he learned that from.

"You most certainly do not have factual evidence."

"Yes I do! You smelled like a girl."

"I'm not denying that I wasn't with a girl, uh, judge, I see a loophole in his evidence."

"I see nothing of the sort."

"Glad to see you've always got my back mom."

"Anything for you Law dear." _"Is everyone's family like this?"_

"Thanks you guys, you're really great; you know that."

"Oh Law, don't be such a grouch, she'll never fall for you like that."

"I'm not trying…"

"Nīchan's got a girlfriend, nīchan's got a girlfriend!"

"I don't!"

"What's going on in here?" Chase laughed walking into the room

"Ah, great, what are you still doing here?"

"It's Friday, my classes don't start until noon."

"Right."

"Now, what is this nonsense I'm hearing about Law having a girlfriend? Has the day finally come?"

"No."

"Yes."

"Yeah!"

"Hmm, well I should go check if Pepper sprouted wings, come on Jays; let's go to zoo."

"Yeah! Let's go, let's go! Come with us nīchan!"

"Chase, it's not very nice to tease your brother like that, can't you see he's embarrassed?"

"Sorry mom, I just can't believe that there's actually a girl out there who…you don't look happy"

"Well aren't you just the next Vegapunk?"

"Why indeed I am."

"That's enough you two, no fighting."

"Sorry mom."

"Sorry that Law can't take a joke."

"That's it! ROOM!"

"Oh no, mom he's doing **that **again."

"Nīchan, calm down, please don't break anything!"

I took a deep breath and sighed heavily, I usually didn't get that angry, I wasn't exactly sure what spurred it on in the first place, I've lived with their teasing for years about no girls ever taking interest in my, and of course the feeling being returned, what did I have to gain from dating? Still, what did I have to gain from dating? Just because I maybe, possibly, liked her didn't mean I had to date her, right? The translucent sphere around us faded and I slumped back into the couch. I wasn't the best at controlling that power yet, I wasn't entirely sure what it even did for that matter, it seemed to be pretty handy, now if only I could figure out how to use it. These things should really come with an instruction manual; that would be helpful. The only thing I really knew was how fatigued I felt after using that ability.

"Law, I thought we told you not to do that in the house, there's too much collateral damage."

"Yeah Law, geez, calm down will ya?"

"You know what Chase?"

"What?"

"That was rhetorical."

"And those fancy words make you feel better about yourself?"

"What?"

"Rhetorical."

"Is that your way of saying that you don't know what rhetorical means, Chase?"

"I know what the word means."

"That what does it mean, Chase?"

"Excuse me?"

"I'm waiting." That's just how we were with each other, my brothers and I, granted they usually ended up ganging up on me because I guess it's some sort of social sin not to have a girlfriend in this day in age. Just because I don't believe in frivolously dating people I was made fun of for it, shouldn't it be the other way around? I only wanted to be with someone I actually cared about, since when is that wrong? Just because I didn't go into high school and the first day come out with some bubbly little things who thinks it's cute that she has changed her hair color four times in the past month. That's not cute, that's going to make me forget who you are, and not to mention just plain not good for you.

"Um…"

"Give up Chase, you know that you don't know the answer."

"Hold on, I remember this one." Chase wasn't stupid, we all knew that, but that didn't make him smart either.

"Alright, amaze us."

"Rhetorical, isn't that when you don't want someone to answer something."

"Hmm, Mom, are we going to give it to him this time?"

"I'd say it was close enough."

"Alright, that's layman's terms for a rhetorical question, rhetorical on its own is simply a skill used in language to further elaborate upon and emphasize a desired effect."

"Sorry I don't memorize the dictionary."

"Maybe you should pick it up from time to time."

"No that's, I'll leave that book learnin' to my little bro."

"What do I have to do?"

"Not you Jays."

"Aw, I never get to do anything." He pouted. "So are we going to the zoo or not?"

"Ask Chase, he said that to try to emphasize his 'when pigs fly' joke."

"Chase- nīchan?"

"Oh, I don't know, ask Law, he's free today, skipping school again, right?"

"Yes, none of your business."

"But I thought you had a little girlfriend there?"

"No, I don't."

"Oh, so the impossible still hasn't happened yet, and I got all excited for nothing."

"Jay-Jay, how about I take you to the park instead?"

"Oh, but why?"

"Because the zoo's too far away, and I need to get back to help mom, okay?"

"Okay! Hurry up nīchan!" He said grabbing him hand tightly and pulling me out the door.

"Mom, make sure you take your medication!"

"Yes Doctor."

"Nīchan!"

"I'm coming Jay-Jay, I'm coming!" For such a small kid he was outrageously strong.

"Why is he so fond of Law?"

"Because he's his big brother."

"But I'm his big brother too."

"Oh, you know how you idolized Caiden when you were little."

"Law never idolized me like that."

"No, he didn't, he was never like that, he's a strange one alright, but he's all heart."

Jay-Jay ran out the door pulling me behind him as if he had nothing else on his mind. "Jay-Jay, you need your jacket, it's too cold."

"Is nīchan going to wear a jacket?"

"Nīchan always wears a jacket as a certain short, little, brunette will kindly point out to you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing, just rambling."

"Okay, now hurry nīchan!"

"Jay-Jay, jacket, now."

"Alright."

"The park will still be there in fifteen minutes Jay-Jay."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do, Jay-Jay."

"What if it disappeared?"

"I can guarantee you that it didn't."

"But what if…"

"Well the more time you sped waiting here I guess the more likely it is that the park is going to disappear, you better hurry; we're not going until you get your jacket on."

"Okay!" He agreed and ran back into the house to retrieve his jacket running as fast as his legs could carry him. "Let's go! Onward! Mush, mush!"

"I'm going to have my hands full with you aren't I?"

"Nīchan!"

"I'm coming."

We hurried down the pavement to the same playground that I went to when I was his age. It hadn't changed a bit since then. It was one of the only things in my life that I could say that for, needless today I had a special connection to it, it made me feel safe, and calm, it reminded me of my simple life when I was young, it was enough to distract me from all the change that had come unto me.

"Nīchan, look at me!" He cooed from atop the highest point on the grounds.

"Be careful up there Jay-Jay."

"I am! Now come up here and catch me!"

"What?"

"You're 'it' you have to catch me!" He shouted trying to climb down from his perch.

I took it upon myself to start making my way up to meet him. I wasn't above making a fool of myself for my little brother, if anyone deserved it he did.

After a good fifteen minutes of darting around the playground after him trying to catch him I gave up the little game of chase he's put me through I gave up and took a different approach. He may have had me beat in speed, but as far as being able to map out a metal plan I had him beat by miles. I hid amidst the sea of colorful metals and plastics waiting for him to get closer.

"Gotcha!"

"Oh, no fair, nīchan!"

"Yes fair, I caught you." I smiled wrapping my arm around his midsection and lifting him off the ground, resting him on my shoulders.

"Heehee, now I'm taller than nīchan! Onward, mush, mush."

"Have you been watching movies from the North Blue again?"

"No." He replied in a voice making it clear that he was lying.

"My…" a feminine sounding voice said from behind us "he's sure a cute one, is her yours?"

I turned around to face a pale girl with light-green wavy hair. "Uh, yes, but no."

"Hmm, I'm confused." She smiled

"He's my little brother."

"Oh." She was accompanied by five or six other children.

"Are all of those yours?"

"What do you take me for?"

"Sorry?"

"I'm babysitting them."

"Oh."

"It may not be the best job in the world but it's one way to put myself through college."

"So are you and your son going to be here long?"

"Brother."

"Sorry, brother."

"We were just leaving."

"Oh, can't he stay and play with us for a while."

"Yeah nīchan, why can't I?"

"Because we have to get back to mom."

"I can watch him…"

"No that won't be necessary Miss… I don't believe I caught your name."

"Monet."

"Miss. Monet."

"Oh, I see, and you might be…"

"Law."

"Oh, right you're Chase's brother. Trafalgar right?"

"Yes, how do you know my brother?"

"We go to the same college." She shrugged "we have some classes together, the usual."

"I see"

"So you can trust me with your brother, Chase would."

"I said no thank you."

"Geez, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning"

"Sure." I grumbled, not in the mood to deal with some girl who obviously only knew the kind of degrading facts my brother had told her about me. "We'll be on our way now."

"What's your name? I'm Mocha."

"I'm Jay-Jay!"

"Nice to meet you Jay-Jay-kun"

"Do you want to play with us Jay-Jay?"

"Yes, but I can't."

"Why not Jay-Jay-kun?"

"Because nīchan's being mean."

"Fine, fine, you can play for five minutes, but no more, then we have to get home."

"I already told you I'd watch him, you don't need to be such an over protective father you know, how old are you, seventeen?"

"Sixteen."

"Come on daddy, loosen up."

"I don't believe in babysitters, I think if you're too busy to take care of your own kid you shouldn't be having one in the first place."

"It pays my way through college, that's all I care about, what these parents are doing or not doing for their kids is no problem of mine."

"Do you only see them as profit?"

"Well that is why I'm doing this."

"You're a cold woman, you know that?"

"Your brother would disagree."

"Oi, Jay-Jay, it's time to go, hurry up."

"Oh, okay, bye guys!"

"Bye Jay-Jay-kun."

"Come back soon okay?"

"They were nice, weren't they nīchan?"

"Yes, very nice."

"Are we ever going to see them again?"

"I don't know."

"I hope so."

"Maybe."

We walked back home, by that time Chase had already left for school and my mother was still in bed, thankfully.

"Did you take your medication?"

"Yes Law, there's no need to check up on me, I'll be a good patient."

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's nice to see that you care about your family so much, but you need to worry about yourself too sometimes."

"I do."

"No you don't, you're too worried about us."

"I can't help it, mom, you need to get better."

"Law, if I could I would, but all that is going to help me right now is time, you need to focus on your future too. You aren't doing yourself any good by never going to school like this."

"I know, but what am I supposed to do, I need to be here to help with Jay-Jay."

"Law, he can take care of himself now, he knows how to get to school by himself now, he can feed himself lunch; he'll be okay."

"Alright, I'll go back next week, deal?"

"Alright Law, deal, but can you at least get your missed work so that you can get a jump-start on that?"

"I can't go back to school; they'll know I'm not sick."

"Is there someone you could call who'd be willing to get your assignments for you?"

"I guess I could."

"Excellent."

"I'll call her later."

"Fantastic, as her if she'd like to stay for dinner."

"No."

"Come on Law, you never let me do anything for you."

"I don't want anything."

"But Law, I'm your mother, I can't help wanting to see you happy."

"I understand."

"Then let me do something for your birthday this year."

"Are you still stuck on that?"

"I just want you to have one good birthday, I know you want the whole family to be together, but it can't happen anymore."

"I know!"

"There's no need to raise your voice."

"I'm sorry; I don't like to talk about it."

"That's okay sweetie, it's hard on all of us. So, are you going to invite her over for dinner?"

"No."

"You're never going to let me meet her are you?"

"No I do not intend to subject her to the things that Chase and Reed are going to say. Never mind you and Jay-Jay."

"Fine, do what you want. But you know what would make me happy?"

"Are you really trying to guilt me into this?"

"Not working?"

"No."

"Fine, you'll do so when you're ready."

"_I can't believe I have to trouble her, first I kiss her, leave her without a reason, then I don't show up for school the next three days and now I'm asking her for a favor. That's the way to do things." _I waited until later that night, I wasn't sure she'd me home. God, who knows what Eustass has been doing to her without me there. I bet he's been all different shades of ecstatic. I dialed her number and waited for her to answer. _"Come on Virginia, please pick up."_

* * *

**A/N: **So here it is, a special just for Law in honor of his birthday (26 again eh Law?) I'll do the same thing for all of my other favorite characters so you can expect that. But yeah, I actually did it! I'm a fangirl of my word. I wrote it in one night even though I had already written a chapter 38, just pushed it all back so I could add this =3 (You better be grateful for your birthday present Law, I was up until three in the morning and had to wake up at seven!) But yeah, as you can see it's uber fluffy just more insight into Law+Family. and yes, I finally named Law's other two brothers. Thank you internet for websites dedicated to baby names! my laptop now think's I'm going to have a baby, but that's alright, I'll delete my history later.

I don't own One Piece, only the OC's.


	39. Chapter 39: Awkward Conversations

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*Virginia's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*- *-*-*-*

_"Can't you ever call me at a fucking decent hour, Law?"_ I thought, secretly hoping I didn't actually say it out loud

"Hello Law is everything alright?" I couldn't even bring myself to sound upset on the phone.

"Yeah"

"Why haven't you been in school this week, are you sick?"

"No, I'm fine, but I was wondering if you could do me a little favor?"

"What do you need?"

"Could you bring all my missed assignments to me after school tomorrow?

"Uh, sure"

"Sorry to be a burden, but you and I have a similar schedule."

"No it's fine, what do you have first, third and fourth?"

"First I have chemistry, third psychology, and fourth is language arts. "

"What are the teachers and where are the rooms. Sorry for the questions I don't know that much about the school"

"No, no it's alright, I'm just glad you can help me. "

"So you're not gonna be here tomorrow either?"

"No"

"What's going on?"

"Nothing, it's not a big deal. Don't worry about it."

"Law, you know those answers don't work with me"

"Just don't worry about it."

"Fine, classrooms and teachers, go"

"Oh, right um chemistry is right across from the physics room, and the teacher is Dr. C, psychology is Mr. Bartholomew and the class room is right across from Mr. Newgate's room. My Language arts class is the first in the first room on the left of the English wing, it's taught by Mr. Vergo, possibly the worst teacher I've ever had."

"Ever had Dr. Sakazuki?"

"Uh, no."

"Have you taken World Studies?"

"Yeah, two years ago."

"Dammit, why did I get stuck with him, fucking Ember kicked me out too late."

"Hmm" he chuckled

"Well, okay Law, don't worry, I'll find them."

"Thank you."

"Oh, no problem."

"Are you sure you're okay with…"

"Yeah, don't make such a big deal out of it."

"Alright, and if it's not too much trouble could you bring them to my house as well. I can't really leave my house; if I could I wouldn't be asking all this of you."

"Nah, it's fine Law."

"Do you remember how to get to my house?"

"No."

"And here I was under the impression that you were the smart one."

"What, am I just supposed to remember everything; I've been there, what once?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, address, directions, now!"

"Okay, okay, pushy much?"

Law described for me exactly just how to get to his house. And when I say exactly I mean exact, every detail down pat. You would have thought that he were giving me directions about how to navigate my way through a foreign country he was so specific. Then, as expected our conversation halted.

After a brief moment of awkward silence I spoke. "So, um, I guess I'll see you then, okay?"

"Yes. And thank you again for helping me out."

"Oh, no problem, it's no trouble really, just make sure you start coming to school mister."

"Hmm."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Okay, well, bye I guess."

"See you tomorrow."

"Yeah."

"Bye."

"_Awkward as all hell." _I thought as I put my phone away. _"Geez, as if it wasn't awkward enough, now I have to go to his house. Why the hell did you even agree to that?"_

That conversation took much longer than it should have, I was probably too excited to talk to Law again. I'm an idiot. I chuckled a little, not even realizing it. All of a sudden I remembered that I was busy after school. _"Great, just great, how could I forget something like that" _I muttered taking my hand to my forehead. _"I'll just tell him I'll be late, he'll understand, it's not the end of the world." _I decided. Glancing at the clock I decided that probably wouldn't have been a good idea. _"I'll just have to tell him tomorrow, I guess. It's already too late. Law will probably be up but he's so busy, he's probably doing something important, I shouldn't disrupt him."_

I got into bed, still worrying about Law. "_What's going on, why hasn't he been in school? Ugh, stupid Law, he always has to make everything such a big fucking secret. Why doesn't he want to tell me anything, or anyone for that matter? Maybe the better question is why do I even care?" _

I laid awake going over every possible solution I could think of, concluding they were all probably untrue and regressing back to the overwhelming question of why I cared so much. He was just one person out of so many that I had met in my not so long time at Paramount High, it wasn't like he should have been any different, but he, for some odd reason, was the one I seemed to be most concerned over. That bothered me, I hated favoritism. I should have kept him at the level equal to that of my other friends. Without forgiving myself I couldn't fall asleep, I laid awake for what seemed to be hours, though I never had a particularly good sense of time, arguing with myself over my possible favoritism to Law. _"Was Kid right? Dammit." _ More scolding myself than arguing, since it was fairly obvious that it was true, until I finally fell asleep, though in hindsight, I wish I hadn't.

"Don't you remember what day it is?"

"Huh? What? Who's there? What's going on?" I couldn't get my bearings, I had no idea what was happening.

"Have you forgotten already?"

"What do you mean?" _"And who the hell am I talking to, may I add?" _

"Might I remind you of the date?" the voice said again. It was a familiar voice, I wasn't scared, but I just couldn't put a face to it. "September 14th."

"Wait, what?"

"You remember don't you?"

"Of course but…"

"I see, you still haven't gotten over it either, you still emanate your cynicism and anger."

"Well of course I do!"

"But you're being distracted, maybe that's good for you."

"What, no."

"Don't be shy, tell me girl."

"Roslind, this isn't the conversation I want to be having."

"Oh come on, I can't see beyond you, I have no idea who your new friends are."

"What the fuck."

"Oh Virginia you now I hate cursing!"

"Right. Sorry."

"So come on, I want details!"

"There are no details."

"Come on, amuse me, do you know how bored I am."

"I can imagine that death isn't pleasant."

"No, it's not thanks for reminding me."

"Sorry."

"You can make it up to me by telling my about your new love interest."

"I can't because there isn't one!" was I really having this argument with a figment of my own imagination?

"Uh-huh, sure there isn't doll."

"You're just like you were two years ago you know that Roslind"

"Why thank you very much."

"Now why don't you tell me what the fu… I mean what's going on."

"I'm not saying anything until you do."

"Come on, my life isn't interesting."

"You know what, maybe not, but you're still living. Be grateful for that." That'd be a tough one to top. Damn my imagination.

"Just, fill me in here, I'm confused."

"Fine, what?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Silly girl, I'm not here, you're just thinking about me."

"But I'm talking to you."

"You're dreaming doll!"

"But we're conversing."

"It's your dream, doll."

"So do I control everything?"

"I suppose so, but can you is the better question."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, your subconscious brought me here; it was all out of your control. Good luck trying to control it."

"Ugh, fine, but what did you mean by can only see me?"

"Consider me your guardian angel."

"But you just said you were a figment of my imagination!"

"Again, it's all your own doing doll, believe what you want to believe."

"Well then how come you didn't go back to your family, you had one right?"

"Of course doll, you must have been up all night coming to that conclusion, oh wait, you were up all night talking to your new lover boy."

"Stop talking about him like that. Nothing like that at all!"

"Oh really."

"Yes really."

"Don't lie doll, you know I can always tell when you're lying."

"Stop it! Stop it now! Answer my question!"

"Wow, pushy, someone really needs to get more sleep."

"Yeah, you think I don't know that."

"And of course I'd love to see my family, but I didn't make the rules, and you were alone."

"Next you'll tell me that you're the reason all these good things happened to me."

"Doll, what do you think this is the twilight zone? You know stuff like that doesn't happen."

"I'm not so sure anymore, this is the Grand Line."

"Hmm, yeah, nice place, you should check it out."

"What do you mean?"

"No-thing."

"Stop being so secretive you're just like…"

"Like who?"

"No one."

"Mm-hmm, now you **have **to tell me all about him."

"How does that work."

"Because he is so obviously the first thing on your mind."

"That's a lie."

"Again, you know I can tell when you're lying, doll."

"This conversation is over."

"Is it?"

"Yes, this is all in my head, you're not real, I quit."

"Don't quit doll, you know you can't quit, I thought I told you that years ago when you wanted to quit."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember, don't remind me, I don't want to think about it right now."

"Of course not, there are 'other things' you want to think about."

"Okay, that's quite enough!"

"Haven't you ever been taught not to yell at your dead friends?"

"No, I don't think that's something that they often have to tell you."

"Maybe they should."

"I don't think this is a normal occurrence."

"I don't know, what do I look like?"

"You were always the smart one."

"Well death changes things doll, I can't learn anything anymore, unless you'd like to tell me…"

"I didn't know there were so many rules about dying, maybe I'll have to ask Brook."

"Brook?"

"Calm down, he's a different guy."

"You're got more than one! Goodness doll, what happened?"

"Ha ha, very funny."

"Then who is Brook."

"I don't need to tell."

"Come on, if you won't tell me about whatshisface."

"Fine, fine, fine, I'll play fair. Brook is a friend. A friend. F-R-I-E-N-D friend, who died and uh, kind of came back to life."

"Kind of?"

"Well, he's a skeleton."

"Neat."

"No you cannot study him Roslind."

"I wasn't going to ask."

"Oh well, because he ate a devil fruit."

"Oh, cool, just like you."

"Yeah, they aren't really all that uncommon, especially not here."

"I know doll, tons of people have them, now haki, that's what you need."

"What?"

"Oh dear, you have so much to learn."

"Yes, I know, now tell me."

"I'm sure you have it."

"What?"

"Haki."

"Yeah I know, but what in the world is…"

"Haki is your willpower, and I think we've all seen that you have a very strong will doll, now just awaken it, it will be helpful to you on the seas."

"Uh, okay."

"Aren't you going to thank me doll."

"Um I really don't know what to say."

"How about the name of your…"

"No!"

"And you call me secretive."

"Come on Roslind, I don't need to be harassed by my own imagination too."

"Well, you were the one who called me here, it's not like I came willingly, you must have wanted to tell me something."

"Wait, so I could have done this before?"

"Yeah, probably, it's all on you."

"Why wasn't I made aware of this, and I don't want to hear it about these dumb rules."

"Okay, okay, now just make sure that boy treats you well, we don't want a repeat of…"

"How did you know about that?"

"I told you, I can only see you, and you told me, don't you remember."

"No."

"Hmm, oh well, you're trying doll and that's all that matters. Good luck."

"You're leaving."

"Well, you seem to need to get up soon."

"Oh right, Friday."

"Oh, but before that, I heard you're a cheerleader now."

"Oh god, you saw that too."

"Yes doll, you of all people, geez, what's that boy doing to you, should I be concerned?"

"Nothing!"

"Oh, how cute you're getting all defensive."

"Ugh, stick to one subject, and I don't want to hear anymore questions about L...uh...no one."

"Come on, tell me something, anything, is he at least cute?"

"Um..."

"Oh, you're blushing, doll!"

"I never thought I'd say this but can we please get back to cheerleading."

"Fine, as I was saying, you of all people!"

"And what about you?"

"Well I couldn't either, but let me remind you that I didn't."

"Alright, alright, give it a rest, it was all for a friend."

"See, you're a good person doll."

"I wouldn't go that far."

"True, you're keeping things from your best friend, or have you replaced me?"

"Never! Don't ever say that!"

"And still with that temper doll, you need to control that, it will come back to bite you, you know, more than it already has, but at least you got out of Ember before they could find out you and I were affiliated with each other, they would have come for you in a flash had they had the grounds to do so."

"I wish they had; then we could have been together."

"You don't still mean that do you doll?"

"Maybe not."

"Good, now that we've fixed that, why don't you tell that little boy you love him."

"Because I don't" I rolled my eyes

"Doll…"

"Shut up!"

"Make me doll, that's in your control."

"Oh stop it."

"Well, good luck tomorrow."

"Will I ever see you again?"

"You didn't just see me did you?"

"Oh you know what I meant Roslind!"

"Yes, yes I did, and that's all up to you."

"Stop saying that."

"But it's true"

"I don't care. I didn't call you here."

"Maybe not you, but your subconscious did."

"Quit it with that."

"I'm right though."

"Yes, you're always right."

"And don't you forget that, doll."

"Oh, believe me I haven't, you wouldn't let me."

"Now get to school!"

"Huh? What?" I woke up, still in my bed _"Was that really all a dream. Freaky. Stupid Roslind, prying at the details of my life, even in death. No, more so now. I can't blame her." _I laughed at our encounter before realizing the date again. _"Oh, that's right, it's the fourteenth. I can't believe it. Already."_

* * *

**A/N: **So, it's been a while since I posted. Sorry about that. And this post is late again, sorry, I've kinda been cheating on this story for some others that I will be posting in the hopefully near future, but I'll keep working on this one too.

Oh how cute she's being taunted by her dead friend, wait what? Yeah, I know this was kind of weird, but I promise it's relevant. And besides, I've been referencing Roslind forever but you've only gotten to see bits and pieces of her, so I guess wanted to humanize her a bit. If you're wondering it's not some crap like they pulled in Hamlet (yes, a two-bit fanfiction writer criticizing the greatest playwright of all time, while I'm at it Michelangelo, concerning the Sistine Chapel...but in all honesty the ghost part just drove me up a wall, not because there was a ghost, but because the ghost revealed the whole damn plot! ), it's all in Virginia's head.

And I so obviously do not own One Piece, thankyouverymuch


	40. Chapter 40: Chemical Warfare

I sprang out of bed, almost enthusiastically_. "How creepy my inner thoughts are." _I couldn't shake the thoughts about Roslind out of my head. I missed her so much, and today it would only be worse. Though in an odd way it was sort of comforting to know she was always with me. A thought rushed through my mind _"good luck tomorrow." _What the hell, doesn't she mean today? Roslind! That girl, I never could figure her out. Even in my own head, I can't figure her out.

I dressed myself in the light blue blend of polyester, nylon, and spandex uniform before tying my hair up to run out the door. _"52 degrees, wonderful, just absolutely, positively, wonderful." _I groaned. It was too cold for that uniform; did the school really not plan on the weather getting cooler in the autumn? _"Law, can I borrow your warm hoodie again?"_ Maybe I really would have asked him if he were there with me, he would've probably said yes anyway, it's not like he's lacking, he practically owned a sweatshirt department in his closet. And besides, I didn't have any warm hoodies, at least none as comfy as the ones Law had, I would have to steal one sometime, or 'borrow' without his permission, if that makes stealing something sound any better. He probably wouldn't notice **one **missing, but knowing Law, he probably had some complex numbering system so he never lost any of them. I always imagined Law as being a neat freak, I hadn't really gotten to see his house yet so I wasn't sure, but he seemed that way, maybe taking one of his hoodies wouldn't be such a good idea. Nevertheless, for now I just needed something that would keep me from freezing to death, at least for the walk from my house to the school and back. _"and to Law's house" _I reminded myself _"I can't forget that" _

I rummaged through my closet looking for something warm to wear. I didn't have very many warm clothes suitable for the autumn. Yes, I had those that would work for the winter, but it wasn't cold enough yet. I had lived my entire life with all four seasons, I was used to just about every type of weather, but I had never been forced to wear clothes I would hardly wear in the summer during the fall. I was never in need of cozy hoodies until now. Normally if it were cold I'd wear long sleeved shirts with some kind of cute little jacket and jeans or something that at least kept me warm in the cooler weather when it wasn't freezing. _"Stupid Law and his stupid North Blue. I'll die if he tries to take me there." _I had zero tolerance for the cold whatsoever. An old grey and blue sweatshirt seemed to be fine, it wasn't the best solution, but it was better than nothing I decided and walked to school.

"Well, there must be a game today." Ace laughed

"Don't remind me Freckle-Face."

"Oh, come on, why ya so upset?"

"Well, if you must know the significance of today, it is the anniversary of the day my best friend died."

"Oh, sorry I didn't think…"

"Ah, don't be sorry Freckle-Face, I haven't told anyone that before."

"You make it sound so natural."

"Well, you should understand right, that whole deal with Sabo."

"I guess that would explain why you were so fixated on everything when you found out about him huh?"

"Yeah, it's not just that he was your best friend, it's all of the kids who were, killed, abused, harmed, maimed, or mistreated in any way by those people."

"I see, so that's you motive."

"I prefer drive. Motive sounds so criminal."

"Might I remind you that in taking action you would be committing a crime?"

"Maybe so, but is that always a bad thing? I mean if you believe and stand by what you're doing, how can it be wrong?"

He shrugged and left the question unanswered.

"Okay guys, happy Friday!" Miss. Makino's soft voice sang "Does anyone have any fun weekend plans?" she paused and looked around the silent classroom "No, nothing? Is anyone going to the game tonight?" Again no one made an effort to respond. "Really, no one's doing anything interesting?"

"We're just a bunch of boring people." The ginger-haired boy in the back of the room echoed.

"Oh really Drake, then what are you doing this weekend?"

"Nothing, like I said before, just a bunch of boring people."

"Come on guys!"

"Knock, knock. Can I come in?"

"Oh, Shanks, what brings you here?"

"Plan period."

"Oh, well it's nice to see you. Feel free to join us; we were just talking about our plans for the weekend."

"Oh how fun, Makino's the best, isn't she guys?" her typically pale face turned pink _"What's going on between those two?" _I narrowed my eyes slightly trying to assess them.

"But none of the kids are doing anything."

"Really?"

"Yeah, they say their lives are just boring."

"Hmm, but Mrs. Trafalgar is going to be in the game tonight."

"Huh?"

"Oi, Virginia, when did you become such an introvert?"

"Miss. Virginia is that true."

"Yeah, thanks a lot Shanks."

"My pleasure." _"God, what does she see in him?" _I asked myself _"The same thing you see in Law" _My mind echoed back. _"Gah, why did I think that?" _My stupid brain was having another all-out war with itself again.

"Why don't you do a plug for your game tonight?" Makino suggested

"Why?"

"Oh, come on, support your school. Show a little spirit!" Ace taunted.

"You be quiet Freckle-Face"

"Don't be so bitter."

"Go easy on her Ace." Shanks smirked

"Huh?"

"She's had a rough week."

"And you!"

"What about me?"

"Do you enjoy tormenting your students or something?"

"It's my job."

"I didn't realize that was in the job description."

"It's essential."

I rolled my eyes. I didn't understand Shanks, he irked me so, but he was still the best teacher I'd ever had, even the taunting, I guess it made him seem more human than most of the other teachers certain burgundy suit wearing former geology teacher.

The bell abruptly rang during our conversation "oops, sorry guys, if your teacher asks if we read chapter 7 just tell him that we did." Miss. Makino smiled.

"Makino, why can't you be our regular teacher?" our class whined, all remembering that Dr. Sakazuki would be coming back on Monday.

"Nonsense, Dr. Sakazuki is a good teacher."

"No he's not!"

"Don't say that you guys."

"But it's true! You'd be so much better."

"Oh, thanks you guys, I'll miss you guys too."

"Well." I said as Ace and I walked out of the classroom "Back to limbo on Monday eh Freckle-Face."

"Do you think that if we complained to Mr. Sengoku about this he'd let Makino take over his position?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Have you noticed how young she is? And Sakazuki's got a doctorate; he's miles ahead of her. Believe me, if we had any realistic chance I'd go for it in a heartbeat, but here, they rule over us like prison guards, we just have to suck it up for four years, then we're free. And just think, we'll be in charge of them in the future."

"Is that really how your mind works, it's kind of scary…"

"Oi! Virginia-chan! You look lovely today!"

"Sanji…" I growled

"Learn to take a compliment Virginia."

"Freckle-Face…"

"Can't you speak in anything besides proper nouns?"

"Oi, oi, you two…"

"So Sanji, what's up?" I asked louder than necessary.

He shrugged "Sanji, do you think that if we complained to Sengoku that he'd let Makino take over Sakazuki's position." Ace asked immediately

"Makino-chan as our permanent teacher!" His eyes turned to hearts and he smiled idiotically

"Calm down Sanji!"

He cleared his throat "I think it would be a great idea."

"It's not going to happen."

"Don't say that!"

"Sanji, you just think she's cute."

"Oh, Makino-chan…"

"Stop it!"

"Sorry Virginia-chan"

"Hey Kid! See you guys later." I ran off and met Kid at the end of the hall

"Huh?"

"It's because he's taller than me isn't it?"

"Uh, no Sanji I don't think that's it."

"Sorry to steal you away from your friends there."

"No, thank you. Really, thank you."

After math I went up to talk with Mr. Smoker to get all of Law's assignments, I didn't really have any desire to go back up to talk to him after school, I was on a tight enough schedule in the first place.

"Ah, Emerson, what do you want?"

"I was going to bring Law all of his missed work after school today."

"Well, good for you."

"I was wondering if I could have everything he's missed this week."

"Sure, I'm rather surprised, Trafalgar actually making up his missed work, well, there may be a hope for him after all."

"You know he's very bright."

"I'll believe it when I see it."

"You're underestimating him, and Kid too."

"I think you're overestimating them, I've known them longer than you, don't forget that Emerson."

"Whatever."

"I don't like that tone, young lady."

"Can I just have his work please?"

"Here." He shoved a stack of papers in my hands. "Now, is that all you need?" He asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Yes, thank you very much." I replied just as sarcastically as he had before walking out and continuing on with the day. Of course there was no better class than Spanish class, it was the ultimate reminder that Law wasn't there, why that ate away at me so much I couldn't understand, but on top of everything else our teacher was a psychopath. No, I shouldn't say that, our teacher was incredibly creepy. Actually, I think psychopath sounded better. Not only did I have to sit through the entire class alone since I had no desire to befriend the other students, I had Law. That was enough for me. But I had to talk with my crazy teacher one on one; that was always a joyous time. And after that class I got to face ridicule from Shanks who found it ever so amusing that Law and I were friends. _"Friends, that's all we are, nothing more; nothing more at all; absolutely nothing." _I repeated over and over again in my head as if I was the one in need of the convincing. Luckily, after Shanks' class the day was almost over, I just had to make it through biology and gym and find Law's other classes…and then another football game. Great.

"_Okay, so I have to find Mr. Bartholomew's room, Law said that was across from history, then Mr. Vergo's room, and Dr. C's room. No pressure; but you only have about ten minutes to be outside." _I ran down the hall into the room across from Mr. Newgate's, inside a large man who resembled a bear sat at his desk reading a large book.

"Excuse me?" He looked up over is sunglasses but made no effort to respond. "Um, are you Mr. Bartholomew?"

"Indeed" he responded almost inhumanly.

"Uh, I'm here to pick up some stuff for Trafalgar Law."

"Alright."

"Might you be able to help me?" he stood up from his chair, he was even large than he appeared.

"Let's see now, what has he missed?"

"He's been gone since Tuesday."

"Thank you, I know, I teach him."

"Sorry, I was only trying to help."

"These are all of the things we have done class while he's been gone, tell him to try and have them done when he gets back, which would be…?"

"Oh, I don't know, he hasn't told me anything."

"What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know."

"Alright, have a nice day then." The bear-like man said returning to his desk and reopening his book.

"You too."

"_Alright, one done, two to go. Okay, next to his English class with Mr. Vergo. I guess Law doesn't like him. This should be interesting."_

I found the small classroom at the end of the English hall, the door was closed but the lights were on and I could hear someone inside talking.

"Hello, Mr. Vergo…Sr. Donquixote, what are you doing here?"

"Don't look so surprised kid. Fufufu!"

"Uh, anyway, are you Mr. Vergo."

"Yes, may I ask who you are and why you are here?"

"Oh, I'm…"

"This is Virginia, she's one of my students; she's a friend of Law's."

"Ah, Law." The both smirked

"Uh, yeah anyway, can I have the work he's missed; I'm going to bring him his stuff today."

"Oh, yes, I assigned them to read chapter 5 in our textbook."

"I don't think you have a textbook." Sr. Donquixote chimed in

"That's right, we don't have a textbook."

"Then what did you assign him?"

"Nothing" Sr. Donquixote added in again.

"Really?"

"Is that right, Doffy?"

"Doffy?"

"Vergo! Don't call me that!"

"Sorry Joker."

"Joker?"

"No, they never have homework; tell Law he can get his own shit when he gets back and for him to stop making other people do his work for him."

"Excuse me?"

"Goodbye now."

"What?" before I even knew it two pink-feathered arms were pushing me out the door. _"What the hell was that? And Doffy, too good. Well that only leaves chemistry." _

I walked up the stairs and found the classroom, inside a pale-horned man was mixing chemicals in the back of the room.

"And then just add one gram of chloride and sholololololo, prefect, it's prefect!"

"Um…"

"Sholololo, and who might you be?"

"Uh a friend of Law's, I just came here to pick up his missed work."

"Ah yes, Law, come with me."

"Um…"

"Don't be scared." He said, but every one of his cues told me otherwise. "Now…" He began as he walked me over to his experiment "would you like to test this for me?"

"No."

"Oh, I can never get anyone who wants to support my work, that's why everything always turns out a failure, if only I had a lovely assistant who was willing to help me for the betterment of society."

"Yeah, if only."

"Shololololo, I see how you're one of Law's friends now."

"Yes, now can I just have his stuff please?"

"If you test this one little chemical for me."

"Is it safe?"

"Oh yes, completely safe."

"Hmm, I don't know."

"What would I have to gain from lying to a student?"

"I don't know, I don't know what kind of person you are."

"You're quite an interesting one aren't you?"

"Uh, sure."

"So Law huh?"

"What?"

"Here's everything he's missed, now hold out your arm."

"Why?"

"Just listen to me."

"Ouch! What was that?" I looked down at my arm. The bastard had dropped some of his weird chemical onto my skin.

"Oops, my mistake, I'm sorry."

"That really hurt!"

"Can you describe it for me?"

"What, no, why, what's wrong with you?"

"I just need to know the side effects."

"I don't know, like a burn."

"Excellent."

"I'll be on my way now."

"Very well. Say hi to Law for me, sholololo!"

"_Fucking weirdo, what the hell was all of that. Ouch, dammit, what kind of chemical was that, it hurts like hell?" _I went into the bathroom to wash the substance off my arm. The water only made it feel worse, but I had no time. I gathered all of my and Law's things and went outside for the pre-game warm up.

* * *

**A/N: **I promise Law will becoming back in the next chapter, promise! I think I may have had a little too much fun with the Shanks scene. Just setting up one of my favorite pairings; ShanksXMakino. And of course I had to work in Vergo and Caesar somehow. Hmm, dangerous chemicals with side effects, good thing she knows a doctor who may be able to help her ;] The next chapter's already written, I just need to edit it. It should be out tomorrow.

I don't own One Piece.


	41. Chapter 41: Reactions

"Virginia, where have you been? We were about to start." Nami asked

"Sorry, I was sent on a hunt through the whole school looking for Law's classes so I could get him all of his assignments."

"Hmm, I see" Robin laughed

"It was all for Trafal-guy."

"Um, yes, is that a problem?"

"Oh no."

"What, a friend can't help out another friend all of a sudden?"

"Of course they can."

"That's enough Nami, she's getting annoyed."

"I know, Robin, but she knows that were all friend here, right?"

"But of course"

"See Robin, it's all in good fun."

"But that doesn't mean I like being constantly paired with Law."

"Don't you like him, Virginia?"

"He's my friend. Friend"

"I see. Well then, we should get ready, practice starts in a minute."

We warmed up and ran through our routine on the field before the game. Couch Nyon gave us another speech about being perfect because of how good the football team was this year. Evidently the school had gotten their new star quarterback just this year when he transferred from a sky island. In all truth I didn't even think one of those existed, but I guess anything is possible.

We walked onto the field and joined the other girls, I held my hand to my forehead and squeezed my eyes closed _"What's wrong with me?" _I thought. My head was warm and I could barely see straight _"You're just nervous, it's because of what Law said to me; that has to be it." _ I concluded and dismissed the nauseas feelings I had and got ready for the game.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Law's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"_Where is she, it's late."_

"Law, what are you doing? You've been sitting there for the past hour." Reed asked in the habitual taunting manner I had grown strangely accustomed to over the years.

"Nothing."

"He's waiting for that little girl." My mother so enthusiastically replied.

"So Law, big date tonight?" He ruffled my hair teasingly "we all are **so** excited to finally meet her after all this time. Oh come on, what's with that face?"

"Reed, are you being nice to your brother?"

"Of course mom."

"Sorry to disappoint, but she will not be staying here very long."

"Oh come on Law, there's no need to be shy about it, we're you family."

"And that's why I'm worried."

"Ah, Law, let me give you some brotherly advice."

"I'd rather you not."

"No, it's good for you."

"Reed, you may be the oldest but that doesn't mean you can offer me any better advice than the fish we ate at dinner."

"Why you little fucker."

"Reed!" Mom's voice suddenly shrill called from the other room "not in front of Jay-Jay, you will not have the same mouth of a sailor like your father had!" That shut him up. None of us liked to talk about dad, even though it wasn't the best means of coping, it sure as hell beat the reverse.

"It's good to see you're feeling better mom." He rolled his eyes. It was true, she had been doing remarkably well today, it surprised even me, but I was nonetheless grateful.

"Now Law, why don't you go take a break, she'll be here."

"Or she stood him up, that wouldn't surprise me."

"It's not a date, Reed; she's just bringing me my schoolwork."

"Same thing."

"No, not the same thing."

"Whatever you want to call it."

"Why are you so obnoxious?"

"Get a sense of humor Law, girls like that. Piece of advice number one from your big bro."

"Yeah, great thinks."

"How do you expect to get anything from her if you can't make her laugh? Laughter is the key to a girl's heart, trust me."

"You don't know this girl."

"Yes, and three weeks makes you an expert?"

"I never claimed to be the expert…"

"Is she hot?"

"I don't know; I haven't touched her enough yet." _"Wow, that came out wrong. Sometimes my sarcastic tongue comes back to bite me."_

"Whoa, Law, slow it down."

"You know what I meant!"

"And you're getting all agitated over it."

"Stop misconstruing…"

"I've never seen you getting so flustered. Ha! I can't wait to meet her."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Doflamingo's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"You did what?"

"I'm sorry Joker; I needed to test it on someone!"

"So you chose a student? You're a fucking moron Caesar, a fucking moron."

"I'm sorry Joker, it was the perfect opportunity, she was right there and…"

"Hold up, hold up, who exactly did you test **it **on?"

"I don't know, I don't teach her, she came to pick up some stuff for Law."

"_Oh Caesar, you dim-witted genius, your stupidity may play in our favor."_ I never claimed the men I had working for me to be geniuses, just the most capable of those willing to do my work for me, fufufufu. "I see; short, brunette, ill-mannered, cheerleading uniform?"

"Yeah, that was her!"

"Fufufufu, this is great!"

"But Doffy, if we kill her, people are going to know she's missing."

"Not necessarily, she's new here, and she's not the most pleasant of souls."

"But Doffy…"

"No need to worry my cute subordinates, and besides, she and Law are rather close for such a short time fufufu!"

"Excellent, I see, we can play Law through his heart strings, sholololo, that's cold Joker, so very cold."

"Fufufufu, Law's used to the cold."

"I can't believe how perfectly this worked out, Law's little lover…"

"No, they aren't dating, I've seen them; it's quite sickening, really."

"Well, whatever happens to her will be in the name of science."

"Fufufu, but the poor dumb prick surely has a thing for her, the way he falls at her feet, he's quite a laughable piece of work."

"Sholololo, his unrequited lover, even better!"

"What happens next Doffy, I would like to know more about this story does she love him too?"

"Vergo, you're the worst spy ever, you know that. It's a miracle no has found you out yet."

"I'm sorry Young Master."

"Fufufufu, but in answer to your question I haven't figured out how she reads yet, but judging by her willingness to schlep around the whole school for him I'd say so."

"Sholololo, how cute."

"Yes, young love, they say it'll be the death of us all, fufufufu."

"If only I had the ability to see exactly how the chemical affected her, oh well."

"Isn't she one of those little cheer girls?"

"Fufufu, Vergo, that's one of the most intelligent things I've ever heard you say."

"A cheerleader you say, could this be any more perfect?"

"Fufufu, and she'll be using the last bit of her energy too. Fufufufu, ah Caesar, I don't know why I ever doubt you, even when you fuck something up it goes right."

"Thank you Joker."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Virginia's Perspective*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

We weren't even half way through the game and I felt terrible. I hadn't felt like I was getting sick earlier today, only since the game started, which is odd, since usually I feel something, anything beforehand.

"Virginia, what happened to your arm?" Nami asked worriedly gesturing to the burn on my arm from where that strange chemical was dropped.

"Oh this? It's nothing" I smiled trying my best to not collapse. If I could get up and moving it would take my mind off the pain, I'd be okay.

"Do you want to wrap it dear?" Couch Nyon asked.

"Oh, um sure" I held my hand to my head like it was the only thing that kept it attached to my body.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes. I'm fine."

"Okay dear, if you're not feeling well please don't overwork yourself; it'd be best if you just got some rest." She wrapped an ace bandage around my arm, it didn't help, if anything it made it worse.

"Don't worry couch."

"Virginia, what's wrong." Robin asked, not convinced by my other answers.

"Nothing, just nervous."

"You don't look well. You should go home."

"No, no, I'm alright" I promised before we had to go out and perform.

I was wrong, after the routine I felt much worse. _"Can I curl up and die now?" _ I asked myself, barely exaggerating.

After the game was over I readily collected my belongings and left the school grounds. Andy half intelligent person would have thought to go straight home and not worry about giving their friend his homework, but I, on the other hand, found it more important to bring Law exactly what he needed before taking myself home.

My head hurt so much I was barely even able to follow the most detailed of instructions which Law had given me on getting to his house. Upon arriving at Law's house I felt myself take a half a step back towards consciousness, it must have been the relief from the stress of having to find his house.

I knocked on the door and immediately a sea of voices arose from inside the house.

"Law! Door!"

"I heard it, I'm going."

"My, she's late."

"Leave your brother alone."

"Better not keep her waiting."

"What did I just say? Now you boys have to be polite and kind in front of her, she is a lady after all, and it would do wonders for your brother if you were nice."

"Of course mommy! Anything for nīchan!"

The conversing continued but I couldn't make sense of any of it. My mind wouldn't allow it.

"Law, hi, it's nice to see you again."

"What happened to you?"

"I'm sorry I had a dumb game to go to" I may have been nearly dying but I somehow still found enough energy to insult the games which seemed completely idiotic to me, but for some reason drew the attention of a good portion of the student body, which I was required to attend.

"Oh." He paused and stared at me "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

"Okay."

"Anyway, here's your stuff."

"Oh, thank you so much."

"No, I want to see what she looks like! God, Law hasn't given us any details, what's her name? I don't know!" another voice from inside the house yelled.

"Give your brother some privacy!"

"I have to go, bye." Law said shutting the door abruptly.

"Law!" A woman's voice scolded "Did you just shut the door in that little girls face?"

"There was nothing else for us to do."

"You let her in this house this instant, young man."

"Yeah Law, you better do as she says."

"And no tricks from you two; be civil."

I clutched my head in my hands trying not to pass out. I felt even worse than before. I couldn't even explain it at this point; I had never before been in so much physical pain.

"Virginia!" Law shouted as he reopened the door. Immediately he ran outside and threw his arms around me. "What's wrong?"

"I-I don't know."

"Why didn't you tell me anything?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Come on, you're coming in with me. Now."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*Law's Perspective*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

I had to bring her in, no matter how much I would have loved to avoid doing so; she was in danger; her life was potentially at risk. She was so out of it that she could barely walk, I ended up carrying her for the most part of the short walk to my 'lab' in the back of the house. It was really just an old spare room of ours but my mother let me take control of it a while back.

Her body was so warm with a fever that I couldn't believe that she had managed to walk herself here without collapsing. She dug her hands into the back of my neck for support. Her breathing was far too heavy to be normal. But she was breathing, that was the positive. I clung to her tightly as to not let her fall, I was too worried about her to even moderately enjoy the closeness of our two bodies.

"What the hell happened to you?" I asked her. I was pissed, not at her, but at whatever did this to her. She muttered something unintelligible, it was all that she could manage in her state. _"What the fuck happened to her. Whoever did this is going to pay." _I knew well enough that this was no natural disease, it came from something man made. I no longer had a choice; the poor girl would probably die if I did nothing. I didn't have time to concern myself over the means of how this happened to her, at that moment; all I needed to focus on was how to reversing whatever it was.

I held her tiny wrist and checked for a pulse _"Good, she's at least alive." _I noted, seeing that she had already lost consciousness. "You had better not die" I told her, not that she could hear me in the first place. I pulled the sweatshirt she had been wearing off over her head _"Great, she's wearing that outfit again, as if this wasn't already hard enough." _I looked over her body quickly; nothing seemed to be practically out of the ordinary. _"Hmm, what's this?" _Her upper arm was covered by a bandage or sorts, poorly wrapped at that. _"God, what the fu…what happened to her." _Of course it was clear that he had been in contact with some kind of harsh chemical that had eaten its way through the flesh of her arm and began attacking her immune system. _"No wonder she's dying…shit"_ I had my work cut out for me. She was already out cold; that was a start. I ran some tests to see what kind of chemical was used on her; then I could work on helping her. "You're going to be okay, I promise, I'll take care of you." I told her, not that she could hear me, and softly kissed her forehead. I most likely would not have done that has she been awake. What kind of doctor kisses his patient before performing surgery on her? How could I have done that after not even apologizing for how I acted the last time I saw her? Why would I even…_ "Focus!" _

I took a deep breath and began the operation. I cut into the infected skin only deep enough as to not cause much permanent damage, though there would always be a small scar left, it was the best I could do at this point and at this level of unpreparedness. _"I hope this works" _"Room." I muttered as a last resort. I didn't know exactly what good it would do, but without anything better in mind it was all I could think of. I picked up the scalpel in order to access the entire affected portion of her body without having to leave a mark _"This is so weird. But rather interesting. I'll have to remember this power. I can use it in the future." _I had not yet grown accustomed to using my devil fruit power, not like she had. I had never had the time nor desire to train it; in fact I didn't even know what it could do. It was more a nascence than anything before this moment. In learning of some ways in which it could be helpful I was much more eager to figure out just what else it could do. The possibilities seemed endless.

Upon completing the surgery all I had left to do was wait and see if it worked. There was no way in hell I was going to leave her there alone, but again I had to ask myself: What kind of doctor would be doing this for his patient? But facing my family did not seem like a good idea, it would only freak out my still fragile mother, and god knows what my brothers would have to say on the matter, something that I wouldn't want her to have to experience when she came to.

I stayed there with her, holding her soft hand, more for my own comfort than for hers. She was so weak; I had never seen her like this before. I'd seen her let go of her typical agitation and mistrust for most living things, but I had never seen her outright weak. In fact, since I had met her I didn't think it was even possible, she always seemed to be so strong, the way she talked, the things she said and did, I never would have guessed that she was the same person. Although strangely, it made her seem more human. Maybe it was that I could see her needing something from someone else instead of being set on her own, maybe I now saw her as something different, something more approachable, whatever it was, I liked it.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Virginia's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Virginia…Virginia…Virginia!"

"Huh, Roslind, what are you doing here?"

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

"What?"

* * *

**A/N: **Please don't kill me for not giving you any closure with this chapter, I'll get to writing the next one right away! But I just had to make her sick for her lovely little doctor. And I couldn't resist Doflamingo's perspective, hmm, is seems that Mr. Flamingo has something against Law...I wonder. Yeah more layers of my plot! (I promise it's not what you think, despite outward appearances I do have one master plan, though having her get sick like this did deviate a little bit, but I couldn't resist.) Geez, spellcheck is just having a field day with all the fufufu's and shololo's, but they laugh a lot, it adds to their creepiness. What chemical was used on her? I don't know, this is a One Piece fanfiction, things don't have to exist in real life. And sorry for falling back on her talking to herself again, but I didn't want to just have her wake up, I felt that this was better, and it leads into something I have planned for the next chapter ;3.


	42. Chapter 42: Dear Friend

"What. Are. You. Doing? Do I need to spell it out for you doll?"

"What do you mean, what are you doing here?"

"Don't you know anything doll?"

"What do you…what's going on?"

"Poor dear."

"What, what do you mean, what's wrong?"

"Does anything seem odd to you doll?"

"Um yes, I'm here talking to my dead best friend again. Is this going to become a regular thing, cause even though I love talking with you and all it's kind of freaking me out a little bit."

"Don't die!"

"What, I'm not…"

"Do you understand now doll? Do you understand the severity of this situation?"

My mind froze, I had no idea how long it had been but I had somewhere along the line lost touch with reality. I didn't know where I was or what I could do. I had no way to help myself. It was strange, after wanting nothing more than to die for the past two years all of a sudden, when the chance was within my grasp I was afraid. Death was no longer what I wished for, in that moment I wanted nothing more than to live, to be okay again, to see Law again, to hug him and tell him I loved him, that I never wanted to leave him again, that I'd always be with him, forever. I hoped that, after years of denying that I'd ever need the help of someone else, that I could do everything on my own, that I had no use for others; that someone would come to my rescue. I hoped that after the years of refusing help that I would be now willing to accept it.

"Hey, what's wrong with you? Snap out of it!"

"Huh, what?"

"Listen, you have to be strong, you weren't meant to die here. Please doll, you can't, you have to live for the both of us, remember, just like we promised so many years ago. If you die then there will be no one left to accomplish our goals, we'll both have died without a purpose, do you want that?"

"Roslind…"

"What is it?"

"I don't know what to do. Please help me."

"I can't do anything that you can't, you just have to rely on your own will to survive, like I keep telling you doll, it's all on you."

"I can't. I'm…I'm not strong enough."

"Don't say that, you can't think that, if you do there's no way you'll pull through, you have to want to make it through this."

"I do. I want to, but I don't want to be alone anymore."

_Eight Years Ago_

"_Hi!" a smiling little raven-haired girl said to me as I sat aloof in the back of the library at Ember Academy. "What's your name?" I still didn't respond to her, hoping that she would leave me alone. "My name's Roslind, I'm new, this is my first year here!" she still so excitedly explained to me. "How long have you been going here?" I continued to ignore her badgering. "Hey, are you okay?"_

"_Why do you even care?"_

"_Because you look sad."_

"_Leave me alone." I got up and walked away and sat at another table, hoping that would be the last I'd see of the overly happy brat._

_That same day during lunch hour she joined me at my table._

"_What are you doing?"_

"_You look like you could use a friend. No one should have to sit by themselves, all alone like that."_

"_Maybe I chose to be like this, did you ever think of that?"_

"_But you didn't, did you?"_

"_Fine, sit there if you must, no one's stopping you."_

"_So, what's your name?"_

"_Virginia, now leave me alone."_

"_Where are you from?"_

"_Here."_

"_Oh, how long have you gone to this school?"_

"_Too long."_

"_What's wrong?"_

"_Enough with the questions already."_

"_But, you're my new friend."_

"_Forget it kid, we are not friends. I don't have any friends, I don't want any friends."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because I have no use for them. Relationships are only going to get in the way, people will never live up to what you need them to be, I've taken care of myself since as long as I can remember, I don't need anyone, especially not someone like you."_

"_I'm sorry, it's just I haven't made any friends here yet, the other kids don't like me because I'm not from a rich family. I just wanted a friend for a change. I'm sorry, I'll leave you alone." She got up quietly and hurried out of the lunch room._

"_Finally, peace." I muttered, but I couldn't focus. I felt bad; she had never done anything to me, why had I been so mean to her? She wasn't doing anything wrong; in fact she was subject to the same crap that I was by the other students. I sighed and got up from my lunch to go and look for her. _

"_Roslind, where the hell did you run off to? Geez, I'm sorry, you don't have to be crying about it."_

"_Please stop it, I said I was sorry."_

"_How many times to we have to tell you kid, to stay away from us?"_

"_We're better than you, and don't you ever forget it."_

"_There's no purpose for you, why are you even here."_

"_You make me sick."_

"_Ouch! Please don't hit me. I'm sorry, I'll leave."_

"_Get her!"_

"_Ouch, please, I said I was sorry!"_

"_Don't let her get away!"_

"_Hey!" I jumped in, three boys and one girl who outsized her greatly had taken it upon themselves to 'cleanse' her of her sinning ways of not being a rich noble like they were. _

"_Oh, would you look at that, the two peasants have already teamed up, get her too!"_

"_Let her go, now!"_

"_And what is going to happen if we don't?"_

"_I said, let her go!"_

"_You're going to have to make us."_

"_I'm not above that."_

"_And just what can you do, little girl?" The largest boy smirked as he held the little girl tightly in his arms by her throat._

"_Reflect!" I shouted directing the light from the small windows which covered the wall into the eyes of two of his accomplices. _

"_Devil fruit using freak!" the other boy shouted before running off in the other direction. Rendi, the most annoying kid of them all. It was just like him to take off like that. He'd go along with just about anything anyone would tell him, but keeping his loyalty was a different story. He was very weak of will, but his background made him immensely powerful._

"_you're going to let her go and scrape up your friends, and we're all going to walk away and pretend this never happened, you got it?" the large boy took a look around, he was alone, Rendi had taken off somewhere safe and his other two friends were already out._

"_Fine." He unhanded the girl and left._

"_How did you do that? That was incredible Virginia!"_

"_Yeah, yeah, don't thank me, it was my fault in the first place."_

"_You're so strong, it's awesome!"_

"_Yes, please don't…"_

"_I'm Roslind by the way."_

"_Yeah, I already know that."_

"_Oh, sorry."_

"_Whatever."_

"_I'm going to become the world's greatest scientist!"_

"_That's a big ambition."_

"_I know I can do it, it's my dream."_

"_Well then, Roslind, this looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship."_

_Present Day_

"I don't want to be alone anymore. I can't do it anymore!"

"Then you're going to have to wake up Virginia."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Law's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"_Please don't die, please don't die. I can't lose someone else." _I held her shoulders tightly partially hoping she would hear my thoughts _"If there is any justice in the world, please let her be okay. For the sake of my sanity, whatever little of it may remain, let her get out of this."_ I pressed my hand against her forehead, her fever had gone down and her breathing had returned to a more normal pace. _"I hope that's a good sign." _ I looked her up and down, she was looked so vulnerable, I had never seen her like that, and oddly enough it only made me love her more. I brushed her hair out of her eyes; I just couldn't accept that this was the same person. I moved my hand down to her chest to feel her heartbeat _"normal, good" _ I moved to her wrist and took her pulse, everything seemed to be in order. I looked at the small scar on her arm, she would have that for the rest of her life, I ran my finger over it gently _"I'm sorry." _ I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and held her close to me, I wanted to protect her; I didn't want anything or anyone to hurt her ever again. I rested my head on her shoulder like I'd done before. It always made me feel better, that was something only she could do. Even like this, the ability to be next to her and just to hear her breathing comforted me tremendously.

Her eyes blinked a few times and her body squirmed, I immediately let go of her and got up off the makeshift bed. She shook her head a few times as if she were adjusting to a completely new environment. I scratched the back of my head and observed her, at least she was okay.

"Law." She mumbled as she pulled herself to her knees and threw her arms around my neck, pulling me back towards her. "Law!"

"Whoa, hey slow down there." Her burst of energy had caught me so off guard that I nearly lost my footing and fell on top of her.

"Law, thank you!" she cried tightening her embrace.

"I'm so glad you're okay." I held her so close to me, not wanting to let her go. Her arms grew weaker around me "Don't try to over exert yourself, you haven't fully recovered." I warned her as I put her back onto the bed and sat beside her.

"Law, what happened to me?"

"I'm not entirely sure." I lied. I decided not to tell her all the details, she didn't have to know, I was just happy she was alive.

"Law…"

"Shhh, don't try to do anything, you need to rest." She lied down for a little while but wasn't willing to rest, something was bothering her.

"Law, I have to tell you something."

"Please, just let it wait, you need to get some rest." I pulled her in close to me and wrapped the blanket around her. Her cheeks lit up a bright pink, should I not have done that? "Now, just rest." She nodded and laid her head on my chest.

"Thank you Law."

"You can thank me later." I smirked "Right now you need to focus on recovering."

I lied next to her for a while just letting her rest. She seemed to enjoy the company and I wasn't going to complain about being between a warm blanket and a pretty girl I loved. She was just so easy to be around, everything felt so natural with her, and after all that had happened, it only made things better.

"Law! What's going on?" a voice called from another room.

"Where did those two go?"

"Leave your brother alone."

"Mom, don't you even care about your son…"

"I trust Law to be a responsible person."

"Well…" Chase snickered. It was just like my older brothers to start something like that. I looked down at the girl next to me, only she trusted me like that. I ran my hand over her back feeling the ridges made by the mark burned into her back. Every time I thought about it, it enraged me. How could people have such little regard for someone else as to do this? Why would someone just let someone do this to her. Despite her knowing this she wouldn't let it beat her, she was determined to overcome it. She would not let it get the best of her.

"He said that it was something important and I trust him that it is no less."

"Whatever mom."

"Is nīchan okay?"

"He's fine honey, just give him some space." It was as if my mom knew that something was wrong, granted she was a remarkable person in that sense.

"Law." Virginia smiled as she woke up and pulled herself up from lying down.

"Thank you so much, Law, I can never ever repay you…" she threw her arms around me again and held me tightly.

"Shh, it's okay, I'm just so glad you're okay, I was so worried, I just couldn't live with myself if..."

"Law…" she muttered before finally letting go. She crossed her arms and drew her attention to the scar.

"I'm sorry, it was the best that I could do…"

"That's all that was left? Law, you're a miracle worker!"

"I wouldn't…"

"Thank you so much." She held the both of my hands and kissed my cheek. A smirk found its way across my face but I was sure I was blushing. I picked her up off of the makeshift bed I had put together in the back room and carried her off to my room; Jay-Jay shouldn't have been in bed yet.

"Law, what are you doing?"

"You need to rest, and that doesn't seem to be happening here." She didn't respond but she didn't offer anything in protest either.

"Am I not going home?"

"Not in your condition." I smirked and held her tight as to not let her fall. Her legs dangled over the side of my arm and she nestled her body into my torso, placing her hands on my shoulders. _"Hmm, I didn't think I'd be carrying you off to bed just yet."_

* * *

**A/N: **Awwww, lovey-dovey fluff. I think the only way could have made it more obnoxiously adorable is if I had somehow brought Bepo into it. Teehee, but don't worry Shachi, Penguin, and Bepo will all make a reappearance in the next chapter that takes place in the school.

The flashback would make more sense with pictures since it's most dialogue but I think it served its purpose, which was just to show you how much she has changed because of her friend. There will probably be a few more over the course of this story because there are a few more 'important' events I would like to highlight. There will also probably be a few for Law and a few for Kid coming soon as well.

I do not own One Piece, only my OC's.


	43. Chapter 43: To Sleep Well

"What was that?"

"_Did I actually say that out loud?" _"Try not to talk Miss, you need to save your energy." I responded with a smirk trying to play it off.

"Why is that, doctor?" _"Damn this girl, even after almost dying she still can be a sarcastic little…" _She snuggled deeper into my arms and let out a contented sigh. _"Damn this girl."_

I leaned down towards her and whispered in her ear "So I can stop carrying you everywhere." She giggled slightly and smiled but didn't move much other than that, she was definitely low on energy by now, and her unwillingness to rest sure wasn't doing her any good. "Come on, let's go."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Virginia's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

The good news; I woke up, the by default bad news; I woke up next to Law. Without even thinking my first action was to hug him. I couldn't help it, I wanted to be close to him, to hold him and never let him go. _"No, no, no, he's your friend. Please don't do this to yourself; you can't just fall in love with someone like that." _Of course the cuddling didn't help that argument, but I couldn't object to it; I didn't want to. I nuzzled in closer to him, for someone who had seemed so cold he was certainly warm and comforting. I couldn't believe all that he had done for me. All the trouble I was causing him, I felt terrible, how could I make him do this after all of the troubles he already has? I could never make it up to him, never.

I loved the feeling of being near him, it was where I felt most calm, I couldn't explain it but whenever I was with him it felt as if all the negative things just went away, I could relax without having to worry about anything.

I could not believe what a great doctor her was, and for being so young. He was truly something special. There was barely a scar left on my arm, after all the damage that chemical caused. _"Is that what brought all of this on, it couldn't be" _Whatever the reason, Law had surely figured it out by now; after all I was alive right? I felt, aside from some slight fatigue, as if nothing had ever happened. If I could just get a good night's sleep I would have been back to normal.

Without any protest I let him carry me off to wherever he had in mind _"again, you're not helping the whole friend thing here." _ He was much stronger than he looked; I wasn't a very big person, but still, he didn't look as though he had been sweeping anybody off their feet lately.

"Come on, let's go." He held me close to him, as if it were the only thing he wanted to do, as he walked out of the room and down a short hallway covered in framed photographs for why was presumably Law's family. _"How many brothers does Law have?" _ Oddly enough his family had never really come up much, I guess it was a touchy subject for him being that his dad upped and abandoned his family. I didn't want to force him to share more than he was comfortable sharing with me, he'd do it when he was ready. He wasn't one to go and speak life story to everyone he met. It must have been what he had grown accustomed to; perhaps he had felt alone like me. Perhaps we could be good for each other. I could easily tell which boy was Law in the picture only because, even as a child, he still wore his characteristic spotted fur hat. He looked so happy in all the pictures, even his beautiful grey eyes were smiling, he must have really been crushed when his family was torn apart; they must have been really close.

Law brought me into another room and to me down on one of the beds. "Law…"

"Stop, you need your rest, and if that means I have to stay up all night and make sure you do then so be it."

"Law, don't do that for me, you need to sleep too."

"Stop trying to be nice, you need to recover. Do you realize what happened to you?"

"Not really." He scowled at that remark. "Law, what happened?"

"Don't worry about it, just go to sleep. I'm sorry but we'll have to share the room with my kid brother, I'm sure he won't mind."

"Where are you going to sleep?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Yes it does, you're just as important as me; you shouldn't be making sacrifices for my sake."

"Stop being stupid." He said leaning his back against the wall. "Just listen to me; it's for your own good. I want you to get better."

I lied down on his bed whilst he stood on the other side of the room, half attentively, unwilling to leave. There were so many things I wanted to ask him, but all of those things would have to wait. There was no way I was getting any sort of answer from him tonight, not at this point.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Mrs. Trafalgar's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"_I hope everything's alright, Law. I know you only get that way when you're worried." _I couldn't possibly take my mind off him, the poor dear had been through so much, even though I didn't know what was going on I was sure that it was nothing good. _"There must be something truly wrong with the little girl for him to go through all that trouble. He must really love her." _that would be good for him, he hadn't been close with anyone in a while, true he had is good friends but he never spent much time with them. I was convinced that they he kept them all at a distance, but this one, this one was different, I could see it in the way he acted ever since he met her. _"I hope she's okay." _

Hiding my concern was hard enough, especially through the incessant taunting of his older brothers. It seems those two never gave it a rest, and it had only gotten worse since Caiden left for college. But then having to calm Jay-Jay down made things exponentially worse. That was what worried me the most. Jay-Jay was young, but he always knew exactly what was going on, when a situation was bad, when a situation was good, and everything in between. His unrest is what made me worry most in this situation.

"Okāsan, is everything okay?"

"Yes, yes Jay-Jay-kun, everything's just fine, don't you worry."

"Okāsan, where's nīchan?"

"He's fine, don't worry, just give him some space, he's very busy."

"What happened to him?"

"Nothing, nothing, he's just fine."

"Then why do you sound so worried?"

"I'm not worried."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, and you shouldn't be either."

"When will nīchan be back?"

"He's hasn't left."

"But I can't see him."

"He'll be out soon enough."

"But when?"

"I don't know Jay-Jay, I just don't know." He walked across the room and slumped into the couch cushion. He held his chin in his hands and placed his elbows on his knees.

"Nīchan" He sighed

"Hey now, don't worry about your brother, he's gonna be fine."

"But nīchan's always so sad. It makes me sad. I don't like him like that. I want to make him happy again."

"Really mom, what is wrong with Law, he usually doesn't act this way."

"Just give him some space you guys, I'm sure there's a reason." They all gave me unsatisfactory stares but I had already told them all I knew. I knew they were all concerned for their brother. No matter how many times they would deny we all cared for one another, they in truth were all worried about their brother.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Law's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

I stood there with her. "Please go to sleep" I muttered as I watched her lie awake. There wasn't much that was keeping her awake, I could tell that it was her own doing; her body wanted to fall asleep but for some reason the stubborn little brunette refused to listen. Finally, after a considerable amount of ignoring her faint whines she closed her eyes. _"Finally"_ I slumped to the floor about ready to fall asleep myself. Jay-Jay still hadn't gone to bed yet which made me not want to fall asleep since I knew he'd wake me up if I did. I glanced at the girl to make sure she was still asleep. A shudder ran down her body as she lay there silently. I pulled myself to my feet and nonchalantly walked over to her. I pulled the blanket up over her shoulder. No wonder she was cold. That outfit wasn't doing her anything, but how could I complain. She twitched a bit and forced her heavy eyelids open. "You looked cold." I said, only slightly embarrassed that I'd woken her up.

"I'm sorry." she mumbled, near tears.

"You don't have to be sorry."

"I'm sorry for causing you all of this trouble; you shouldn't be in this situation right now."

"As long as you're okay I'm happy" I told her as I bent down to her level. "Now, is there anything I can do for you?" I whispered into her ear.

"Well..." she said through a smile

"Get some sleep" I chuckled and ruffled her hair before getting up again.

"Law..." she called before I could leave her side

"What's wrong?"

"I'm cold."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Virginia's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

No wonder Law has such dark circles under his eyes; who could sleep in such a cold house? Damn north blue natives.

"Umm..." even in the darkness of the unlit room I could see the soft pink glow on his cheeks I'd grown to love so well. "Do you want me to get you another blanket something?" I caught his arm as he was standing back up.

"Law." I tugged lightly on his arm pulling him towards me "please?"

"Move over." he smirked lifted the blanket up before climbing in next to me.

He pulled the blanket over us and entwined me in his arms locking me into the bed. He rubbed his hands up and down my upper arms warming me up "better?" he asked making sure to look directly into my eyes. I nodded up at him, still cozied up in his arms. "Good, now go to sleep" he smirked as he nuzzled his head against mine.

"And now you have somewhere to sleep too, and I don't have to feel bad about taking your spot"

"Go to sleep" he ordered. I squirmed up out of his grasp to match his height "I thought I told you to..." I cut him off by gently encasing my lips over his.

"Thank you Law, for everything." I smiled before resting again in his arms.

He didn't say anything but he pulled me even closer to him, wrapping my entire body in his protective arms as he planted hundreds soft kisses on the back of my neck. He unwound his arms from around me and turned so that we were facing each other. With one arm he pushed me up against him by my waist and angled my chin up to meet his lips with the other. I encircled my arms around his neck running my fingers through his messy hair. He kept his hand at the side of my face making it so that I couldn't leave even if I had wanted to, and traced the side of my body with his free hand. He slid his now warm hand down my contorted leg and caressed my bent knee, keeping me tied to him. He forced me further into the mattress not allowing me much room to move and he dragged his lips over mine. "Don't move" he ordered pulling me up from the mattress and pinning me against the wall, pressing his chest firmly up against mine completely disallowing me any space of my own. At this point, completely overpowering my presence with his own, he allowed his soft lips to caress my cheeks and neck as he pulled me even nearer to him, so close that I felt my heart skip a beat. The fatigue I had felt earlier had since been abandoned at the hands of one stormy eyed doctor to be.

I clung tightly to his neck not wanting to ever let go of him. I would have been more than happy to stay that way until morning, everything felt perfect. "Law." The soft, content moan escaped from my lips without my control.

Immediately in response he pulled back. "That's enough, you should get some sleep." he fixed the blankets and pulled the covers back over us and roughly jerked me towards him once again.

Completely out of my own power I felt a tear stream down my face.

"Hey, don't cry I didn't mean to..."

"It's not that"

"Them what's wrong, are you feeling well?" he queried worriedly as he felt my forehead.

"No, I feel fine."

"Then what's wrong, I know, I probably shouldn't have..."

"How can you still be so good to me after all I've put you through today?"

"Are you still on that?"

"I can't help it, I feel so bad about wasting your time"

"listen, anything I can do to help you I'm going to do, it's not a waste of time."

"But Law..."

"Stop it, I chose to help you because I value your life, I'd never want anything to hurt you. I can't tell you how upset I was over this happening to you, I wanted to help you, I chose to help you, but you have to want you help yourself too"

"Just, thank you so much I can never..."

"You've thanked me enough. All I want in return is for you to be here with me; that's all I want right now, so can you please do that for me."

"Law I..."

"Now no more, let your body rest, you've been through more than enough today." we nestled into the warm blanket still holding onto each other. "Now good night."

"Good night Law" I whispered and kissed his tan neck. He gently rubbed his hand down my back in return. _"I love you"_ I whispered under my breath so he wouldn't hear me, though part of me wished he had.

We spent the rest of the night in silence until we both eventually fell asleep.

* * *

**A/N: **Teehee, so I finally went ahead and pretty much set in stone their relationship(with another crappy romance scene!). They'll try to deny it for a little while longer but come on, everybody knows it now. I actually already have the more official chapter written, because I know exactly how I want it to go, but there is another scene that comes before it so yes, that pretty much explains their relationship. I mean I thought that 43 chapters was a long enough time to torture everyone, but not without one last event with Kid to screw some stuff up.

More fluffy cuteness of Law playing doctor before they return to the school setting.

I do not own One Piece.

Also, happy birthday Doflamingo, I'm sorry I couldn't write you into this chapter but it wouldn't have made sense, and being that I didn't want to just put in a random chapter for you I can only give you this tiny shout-out. I sincerely apologize, please do not kill me.


	44. Chapter 44: We're a Happy Family

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Law's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"_Now stay asleep." _I thought as I held her in my arms. She was so beautiful, as much as I wanted to be angry with her for not just listening to me in the first place I couldn't. Her soft hair ran against my shoulders and neck since she had taken it upon herself to use me as not only a heater, but a pillow as well. In hindsight, maybe this wasn't my brightest idea, but she seemed happy, and I, of course, was elated to help her.

My hand rested on her bare stomach _"she couldn't have just worn more damn clothes? I'm sure walking here in the cold did wonders for her health." _ I scowled; angry at the school for choosing such a ridiculous uniform, and angry at her for wearing it, especially now. I then thought of all of the people who had been gawking at her throughout the day. _"Shachi, Penguin, you two better not consider doing any of those things you've been thinking of. And Eustass-ya…" _I clenched my fist thinking about all of the horrible thoughts that had probably surged through his mind. _"No, let her sleep"_ Just my luck, she cared for him too, I didn't want to get on her bad side by saying something to him. The damn red-head lucked out. The feeling of her steadily paced breaths calmed me down. She was okay, she was safe, she was with me, and I intended to keep her that way.

Seeing as I had already made my bed, I might as sleep in it too, quite literally I suppose. Though, it wasn't particularly a bad thing. "Good night" I whispered to her, to wanting to wake her, god knows she would have been more trouble to get back to sleep than Jay-Jay. I kissed her softly one last time. "Sleep well Miss Virginia." I sighed and pulled the blankets up over us. Finally able to relax I shut my eyes and fell asleep. Sleep would come easier tonight.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Jay-Jay's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"Okāsan, I'm tired, when can I go to bed?"

"Whenever you want Jay-Jay-kun. You don't have to wait up for your brother to put you to bed."

"But nīchan always says 'good night' to me. He tells me good stories."

"Can Chase put you to bed tonight?"

"Okay." I wasn't very happy, I miss nīchan; I was worried about him. Mommy said not to worry and nīchan always tells me not to be preoctopied about him.

"Hey, don't sound so sad about that, you'll see I'm more fun than Law."

"Hmph." No one could be better than nīchan, he was the bestest big brother ever.

"Okay Jay-Jay, but you have to drink your milk before you go to bed."

"Don't wanna!"

"It's good for you."

"No it's not."

"What, yes it is Jay-Jay, come on, cooperate."

"Hmph" I didn't want to drink milk, I didn't care if I wasn't copoperating.

"Come on sweetie, you can't go to bed until you drink your milk, that's the rule."

"Then why don't you have to drink your milk?"

"Because you're still little and milk will help you grow big and strong."

"No it won't."

"Yes it will, even as Law."

"Okay, where's nīchan, I want to see nīchan!"

"Law's very busy, please Jay-Jay be a good boy and listen to me."

"Hmm…"

"Don't be such a fuss!" Chase-nīchan shouted at me. I liked nīchan better than him anyway.

"Chase, don't yell at your little brother."

"I don't get it; he's never this fussy for Law, what's with him?"

"It's 'cause nīchan's awesome."

"How does Law do this every night?"

"I guess your brother was blessed with a gift in child rearing."

"That's good news for that little girl he's brought into our home."

"Leave your brother alone."

"Now, Jay-Jay, exactly what does Law do to get you to do what he says."

"Nīchan always tells me why things are good for me."

"We already told you, it'll make you grow big and strong."

"But nīchan's more pespific. He's a genius,"

"Dammit, Law."

"Chase!"

"I know, I know, language."

"That's right." Mommy didn't like when Chase-nīchan said certain words. She said they reminded her of daddy. I didn't memember daddy very much, but whenever I heard stuff about him it always made everyone sad. Especially mommy and nīchan. I didn't like when people were sad. They should be happy.

"Jay-Jay, would you please just drink your milk, Law will tell you whatever it is you like to hear tomorrow."

"Don't wanna."

"Law would want you to."

"Hmm…Okay!"

"I can't believe that worked. Mom, have I ever told you that I hate Law?"

"No you do not."

"He gets on my nerves."

"He's your little brother, he's supposed to, but you love him."

"I don't know about that."

"Sure you do."

"Whatever."

"Chase-nīchan!"

"What is it?"

"I'm all done!"

"Good, now go brush your teeth go to your room, I'll be there in a minute."

"Hmm…Okay!"

"Good boy."

"I'm not a dog!"

I ran to the bathroom to brush my teeth, just like nīchan had always told me to do. And after that I hurried to mine and nīchan's room for bedtime.

When I got to our room the door was shut. That was weird; the door was never closed unless we were sleeping.

"Chase-nīchan hurry up, I'm tired!" I pushed on the door and ran inside. It was all dark, _"nīchan must've forgotten to leave a light on for me." _I looked around the room for a light to turn on but it was too dark, I couldn't see anything.

"Hmm, Chase! Hurry up!" he was being such a lazy bones tonight. _"Hmm, nīchan?" _ Nīchan had already gone to bed before me. _"Not fair nīchan, not fair"_

I walked up to him to try and wake him up. "Nīchan, nīchan, nīchan, wake up!" I tried to shake his shoulders so he would get up. Nīchan never sleeps like this or this early. "Nīchan! Nīchan! Get up!"

A girl tossed and turned before picking her head up "huh?" she looked surprised when she saw me; her face was all pink, she must have been really warm from cuddling with nīchan.

"Who are you?" I asked her, but she didn't say anything back. I had never seen her before; I didn't what she was doing here, and why she was with nīchan.

She squirmed a little bit and tried to sit up "ouch, what are you doing up, I told you to stay asleep." Nīchan looked upset with the girl who only pointed at me.

"Nīchan, what are you doing?"

"Alright, come on Jay-Jay, it's time for bed." Chase- nīchan walking into the room and turned on the light "Well, isn't that jut adorable" he laughed noticing the girl "So that's what you've been up to Law." The girl who was sleeping with nīchan turned bright red and pulled the blanket up over her face. Nīchan looked even more mad at Chase as he held the smallish girl.

"Nīchan…"

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Law's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"_Well, this day is just going fantastically for me." _I thought looking at a very confused Jay-Jay, smirking Chase, and an embarrassed Virginia. "Mom!" Chase yelled into the hallway "you better come in here."

"Chase, shut up." I growled at him seeing as the poor girl was still clinging to my chest trying to disappear.

"Nīchan, nīchan, what's going on, who's that girl?"

"It's nothing Jay-Jay, don't worry about it, just go to bed."

"But…"

"What's the big problem, Chase?" my mother called back from another room.

"Don't give her trouble Chase." I warned him.

"Wait till you see what you son has been doing!" I glared at him. He lived for a moment like this, finally getting one I didn't think for a second that he would give up. "I ever thought I'd get to see the day…"

"Give it a rest Chase, can't you see she's not well."

"Yeah, I can see that, she got into bed with you. There's gotta be something wrong with her!"

"Chase!"

"Nīchan…"

"And you…" he turned to Virginia who was still mortified. "Would you like to tell me just who it is you think you are?"

"Leave her alone Chase."

"And you're even defending her and everything, so sweet."

"Give it a rest."

"I just want to know a thing or two about her, so why don't you tell me, sweetie?"

"She's my friend, now stop it."

"No, no, no, let her speak for herself." he looked right at her and tried to pull her away from me. "Hey, don't you talk?" he grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him.

"Take your hands off her." I said trying not to yell at him. I grabbed his wrists and removed his hands from her shoulders and pulled her back into my arms. The poor little thing was shaking like a leaf. "Don't ever touch her again."

"Law…" She whimpered, still shivering out of embarrassment, nervousness, being cold, and whatever else she may have been feeling.

"Don't cry." I held her tighter hoping she would calm down.

Chase stood there with a scowl across his face trying to think of what to say next. And just to my bad luck, his other half sauntered into the room after hearing the altercation.

"And what seems to be all the commotion in here tonight?" Reed asked with a devilish smirk on his face. "My, would you look at that, it seems our little Law is growing up." Reed and Chase were for the most part, Carbon copies of each other, other than Reed being older and two inches taller than Chase they looked exactly the same and they acted exactly the same. Reed was more sarcastic and therefore more obnoxious than Chase. We all were rather similar in appearance, we all took after our mother; tan skin, dark hair; except for Caiden, mom had always said he was the spitting image of our father; dirty blond hair, pale white skin, and dark green eyes. People were often surprised that we were related at all. Caiden wasn't like Reed and Chase, despite all the stories mom would tell about Chase idolizing Caiden the two couldn't have been more different.

Chase chuckled "I was just as surprised as you were."

"So who exactly is this little lassie?"

"We don't know; Law's keeping it all tight-lipped."

"Hey now Law, that isn't very nice; we're a family after all."

"Come on Law, don't ya wanna…"

"Why don't you guys leave him alone!" she finally shouted

"Oh, so she does speak." Chase snickered

"What's your problem?"

"Virginia, you don't have to…"

Reed looked at her intensely. "My, and she's sticking up for him and everything, you may have lucked out Law."

"Just leave him alone!"

"There's no need to shout mademoiselle; just a little brotherly love."

"I don't really see that as love."

"Love can be shown in all different ways."

"But can't you see that he's upset, there are limitations to what you can and can't say, even if it is family."

"You're quite different."

"Alright, what is going on in here, do you have any idea what time it is? Jay-Jay needs to go to bed and…" My mother finally made her way into the room after hearing all of the arguing. "So I take it this is that girl then, Law?"

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-Virginia's Perspective-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

His older brothers were so mean to him; I couldn't help but yell at them, they had no reason to be acting that way. And after Law had been so sweet, I couldn't stand the way they were treating him.

"I'm sorry ma'am, it's all my fault. Please don't blame Law."

"Oh, don't worry sweetie." She smiled kindly at me, though I didn't believe that was all she wanted to say.

I was still blushing like mad, what a way to meet the family.

"Nīchan, what's going on?"

"Noth…"

"Oh, don't worry about it Jay-Jay; this is just Law's little 'friend' that's all."

"Hmm." The adorable little boy shot her a confused look and then looked back to Law. Yes, definitely Law's little brother, other than having big brown eyes and a lack of dark circles surrounding them he looked like a younger version of Law.

"Now Law, why didn't you just bring her to the spare room?"

"It's never set up."

"Why don't I go do so and she can sleep there for the night?"

"Fine, but I need to monitor her."

"What happened?"

"I need to make sure she sleeps so she can recover."

"Is she sick nīchan?" the little boy asked staring up at Law.

"Not anymore." He replied with his usual smirk.

"Yeah, nīchan's a genius!" he cooed and jumped up on the bed to properly congratulate his older brother.

"How cute."

"And miss, as my patient I would advise that you try to refrain from speaking too much."

"And why should I do that, doctor?"

"Because I said so."

"Well that's not a very good reason; perhaps I should find a better doctor."

"Just until you recover."

"But what does that have to do with me speaking?"

"I hate to interrupt this blatant expression of love, but can we please address the matter at hand?" one of the older brothers interjected.

"Alright then Law, but please, take her to the spare room so Jay-Jay can get to sleep."

"Fine."

"I'll go set everything up. I'm sorry our house is a little messy sweetie, you know how boys can be."

"Not at all, I'm sorry to bother you."

"Don't worry; our house is your house, I'll go fix the room."

"No mom, you know you shouldn't be doing so much, I'll go."

"Nonsense Law you need to stay here."

"You aren't well enough to be up like this."

"Now Law, what kind of doctor would you be if you let your patient out of your arms-I mean sight?"

"Mom."

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine; but make sure you take good care of her."

"Be careful."

"My name's Jay-Jay, what's yours?"

"Virginia."

"That's a pretty name, how old are you, I'm six."

"Sixteen, just like your brother."

"Oh, nīchan turns seventeen in October; he'll be older than you then."

"Hmm, really, that's good to know, that way I can embarrass him even more, when is his birthday?"

"Umm…Oh right it's October…"

"Jay-Jay…"

"What?"

"Don't talk about people behind their backs."

"But you're sitting right here."

"Never mind."

"Oh well, when's your birthday Virginia-san?"

"August ninth, how about you?"

"Mine is September sixteenth."

"Well then happy belated birthday."

"Heehee, thank you. Are you nīchan's girlfriend?"

"Umm…"

"Are you?"

"Law, what have you been telling them?"

"Nothing, I swear."

"Well?"

"We're all **dying **to know 'Virginia-san'"

"Law and are a very good friends."

"Why were you sleeping in nīchan's bed?"

"Yes Jay-Jay, that is a very good question." One of the brothers snickered

"Erm, uh…" _"Great, get flustered, why don't you? It's certainly helping the situation."_

"It's just; don't mommies and daddies usually sleep together like that?" _"I thought he said he was six?" _

"Why yes, that's an excellent observation Jay-Jay, care to share with us Law?"

Those brothers were really starting to get on my nerves, no wonder Law's always in such a bad mood, he deal with this every day. I was suddenly grateful to be an only child.

"She was cold."

"So this was your best solution."

"Yes and there will be no further questions on the matter."

"Geez Law, there's no need to be so closed about everything, don't you want your family to know about your girlfriend?" he caught an angry look from Law in return "Girl who's a friend, therefore girl friend."

"I don't think there's much to tell."

"Oh but we're all so interested."

"Virginia-san, what's your favorite food?"

"Hmm, I don't know, I guess I haven't really thought of it much, why?"

"Because nīchan hates bread!"

"Hate's bread?"

"Yeah!"

"That's adorable." I giggled looking at a rather cross looking Law "Oh come on, what's with the face, you're quirky, it's cute."

"Okay, you're one to talk miss: I have no filters in anything I say and I try any bad idea and don't respect authority and everything I say has to end with some sarcastic remark."

"Hey, I said you were cute and that's the thanks I get, I'll have to remember not to give you any more compliments."

"Ah, come on now, you know I love you, stupid cheerleading uniform and all."

"Great, thanks for reminding me."

"Cheerleader, how is Law dating a cheerleader?"

"Better question, why is a cheerleader dating Law?"

"I don't know, I'm not convinced she could be a cheerleader, don't they have to be nice, and happy and…not her."

"What are you saying, Chase?" Law glared at him

"I did it to help a friend, that's it. I agree with you, I'm hardly the cheerleading type."

"Well, it's not fun if you're going to agree with us."

"Gee, thanks."

"I'm sorry they're so rude."

"Don't worry about them; people have said worse things to me."

The room went silent for a moment until we got a reprise of the taunting from his older brothers.

"So, how did you two meet, we're all excited to know the story of how Law met his first little girlfriend."

"That's enough you two…"

"Well, it was really an interesting story. You see we were both walking in opposite directions when we bumped into each other and Law spilled his coffee over the both of us. Of course I was upset that he ruined my outfit but when I looked up into his beautiful grey eyes I couldn't help but forgive him. He offered to take me back to his house and of course I agreed. He tried to help me get the coffee stain off my shirt but to no avail, ever so gallantly he offered to repay me for any expenses caused. Seeing that the whole accident was partially my fault as well I denied but asked him if he could walk me back to the train so I could get home. He of course agreed, but he took it one step farther in making sure I got home safely. As we walked to my house the sun began to set turning the sky the most beautiful shade of red. It was like something out of a fairy tale. And before we could say goodbye we both, almost magnetically, moved towards each other and allowed our lips to meet. I invited Law into my house for the night and by that time the next year we were married with our first child and the rest is history."

"I see what he meant by sarcastic."

Law's mom then returned to the room implying that she had already set up their other room.

"Come on, let's go." He said getting up out of bed and picking me up before I could get myself up. "You didn't think you'd be walking did you?"

"I'm pretty sure I can do that."

"You still haven't recovered, and you certainly haven't gotten enough sleep."

"Law…"

"If only you would listen to your doctor."

"I thought I had no respect for authority?"

"Exactly."

"You know what Law?"

"What?"

"Thanks for taking such good care of me."

"My pleasure."

* * *

**A/N: **Jay-Jay's picky, just like his big brother. I really love writing for him, I think he may be my favorite OC of mine. Another kind of cutesy chapter, but I got to show more of the Trafalgar Family. I enjoy making Reed and Chase torture Law, probably more than I should. I don't know why but I have so much fun writing Law's family. I do plan to bring Caiden in sometime as a character in the future, but I'm not exactly sure when.

I do not own One Piece.


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